All According to Plan
by SerapeWrensFolk
Summary: The Vytal Festival Tournament was in its last quarterfinal when Cinder Fall decided to enact her scheme in devastating Vale and taking the rest of her power. It paid off, but not for her. As it turns out, Beacon's youngest student had been hiding her true intentions for quite some time. An AU created to switch things up with a few key characters, especially Ruby. I hope you enjoy.
1. The Greatest Trick Part 1

In every adventure, every conflict, there is a climax. That defining moment when everyone's goals are dancing on the head of a pin and only one side is going to get what they want, that day. You can plan for months, even years, and still risk losing everything at the climax, because there are just too many variables flying through the air for anyone to predict it all. On days like those, the best you can do is remember your priorities and be prepared to walk away before you do something you'll regret for the rest of your life.

One such day came on the tail end of the Vytal Festival. There were three matches to go before the final fight in the tournament and Amity Coliseum was abuzz with anticipation for the next bout. Everyone was glued to their seats, waiting for the randomization to commence. Well, almost everyone.

"Ugh, this sucks!" groaned the frustratingly incarcerated teenager in the stadium's emergency holding area. Yang Xiao Long would, unfortunately, be missing the final round due to being framed up for assault on another contestant. The silver haired jackass had attacked her, she knew he did. Unfortunately for her, the cameras and the thousands of eye witnesses said different. When she explained what happened to her team (after the confiscation of her weapons and personal effects, of course) they, at least, seemed to agree with her. Well, Blake and Weiss seemed skeptical at first, but Ruby never once doubted that something was going on. _Thanks for having my back, little sister,_ Yang thought to herself as she lounged on the generously provided bed, staring at the ceiling with the false hope of something interesting making itself apparent. Her dad had always warned her lock-up wouldn't be a fun place to end up in, but she was really hoping for the other kind of un-fun. The kind that involved alpha-male numbskulls who thought she was easy prey. Instead, this was just boring and, unfortunately, she was under strict "leader-face" orders to wait until everything was sorted out.

While the team agreed on Yang being put under some kind of illusion, there was some debate as to who and why. Weiss was under the impression this was petty unsportsmanship through the aid of one of Mercury's teammates, in order to ensure whoever defeated them wouldn't advance to victory. Blake, on the other hand, thought it might be the work of the White Fang, recognizing them as threats to any future plans and ruining RWBY's credibility in advance. Ruby didn't seem to have an opinion, though Yang imagined she was withdrawing any comments for a more personal reason. After all, Emerald and Ruby had become fast friends since the beginning of the quarter. It would be difficult for her to accept any sort of misconduct coming from someone who'd been so nice to her. Yang didn't call any attention to it, though. No need to worry her baby sister more than she already was.

After a while, the blonde's mind drifted to the status of the finals. Last Yang had heard, Penny had made it into the semifinals, while Pyrrha and Sun were supposed to be squaring off for the last quarterfinal. She felt bad for the monkey boy. He was good and he had a lot of tricks up his perpetually open shirt, but being paired against the great champion Pyrrha Nikos was pretty much a guaranteed loss. Aw well, he'd managed to get farther than her, at least. The thought left a bitter expression on Yang's face as she considered how poorly she'd handled the situation. Even if Mercury had really attacked her, her response was excessive and she knew it. His aura was gone and, with it, most of his ability to do harm. She had enough aura to absorb another kick without permanent injury, and even if she didn't all she needed to do was block before the security forces stepped in. Instead, she did what she always had. Let her temper control her. Half of her felt like she belonged here. What would happen if she lost control again? Who would she hurt? Even worse, what if it went past hurt? She needed to learn to better rein in her emotions, but she wasn't sure who to talk to about that. Ruby fought because it was her art, less about restraining the beast and more teaching it how to paint something beautiful. Weiss may have been all form, but her temper was nearly as exploitable as Yang's was. And Blake? Her fury was righteous, never pointed at the wrong target because she didn't attack without the conviction for justice or survival. Maybe one of the teachers could help, once she was released. Goodwitch got ticked off a lot, but she always kept her composure. Of course, that was only if she wasn't expelled from Beacon. If this went to trial, Weiss had better get her a good lawyer.

That pleasantly optimistic line of thought was cut short as Yang suddenly felt the entire room shake. That was odd. Getting up from her bed to try and get a peek outside the bars of her cell, the boxer didn't see anything at first. Figuring it must have been some brief error in the stadium's stabilization, she turned to walk back to her resting place. Two steps later and the sound of gunfire and panicked screaming graced her ears. Rushing back to the bars, she caught a glimpse of a White Fang grunt, passing by the door.

"Oh shit," Yang exclaimed as the realization dawned on her. That was apparently unwise as the very same grunt did a double-take and peered into the room. Grinning, he stepped in, leveling his rifle menacingly at the young girl.

"I was hoping I'd run into you," the faunus sneered, "The entire Fang wants you and your friends dead. Guess I hit the jackpot."

Now, getting shot is never fun. Even when wearing armor, the impact stings like a katana hornet. Yang didn't have armor. Yang just had full aura, which meant little for a civilian, but a lot for a huntress that can survive being punched through a cement pillar. Staggering a little, the blonde brawler took a firm grip of the bars. When she looked up to glare at the extremist before her, her eyes were a scathing red.

"Bad move, buddy."

Three distinct sounds were heard. First, the reinforcements of the cell door straining under the pressure of Yang's enhanced strength. Second, the high register of Yang's rage filled scream. Third, the even higher register of the White Fang soldier's panic filled scream. One flying cell door later and Yang Xiao Long strode out of her imprisonment once again a free woman.

What Yang saw as she traversed her way through the inner portions of the stadium would haunt her for a very long time. Bodies were strewn about, some White Fang, some Atlas Security, and some civilian. The White Fang were pushing through, somehow managing to smash the Atlesian troops without much trouble. Yang noticed an Atlesian knight open fire on the men they were supposed to be supporting. Clearly, something was very wrong.

The boxer caught her first break when she heard the telltale hum of a Schnee glyph. Following it, she found two of her teammates, Weiss and Blake, cleaning up a few drones down a corridor. "Yang, oh thank god!" Blake exclaimed when she noticed her friend approaching. Finishing the final knight off with a decapitating swipe, she turned to give Yang a tight hug.

After returning the embrace for a few moments, the two separated. "What's going on?" Yang inquired, still eyeing both of them for any sign of injury.

"The White Fang decided to enact their big plan in the middle of the finals," Weiss explained as she check the Dust levels of Myrtenaster. "Apparently they had some kind of virus infecting the Atlas defense systems all this time. They've got all three thousand knights aiding their assault and the fleet is all floating dead in the air."

"What about Ruby?! Is she okay?!"

"She was safe, the last time we saw her," Blake assured. She hesitated with her next set of words, as though confused by the topic herself, "She… started acting kind of weird when the fighting broke out. She mentioned something about the control center and sped off. Apparently JNPR and Penny are already down there," she handed Yang a pair of gold bracelets she had been keeping on her hip, "She told us to get you out and meet her there."

Glad to have her two best friends back, Yang reattached Ember Celica to her wrists and enjoyed the familiar weight they had, "All right, let's get going."

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On their way to the control center, the three were stopped by the sight of a very broken Team JNPR. Jaune and Nora were both bruised and bloodied, though their status was minor compared to the unconscious forms in their arms. Ren looked like his ears were bleeding, whereas Pyrrha had a sort of burn mark where her neck met the base of her skull. The two conscious members of the team looked more shaken than the girls had ever seen them.

"What happened?!" Weiss exclaimed as she looked over the battered forms of her closest friends.

Nora didn't seem all that capable of speech, instead just tightening her grip on Ren a little more. Jaune, however, cleared his throat and began in a shaky voice, "That Atlas girl, Penny. She's working for the Fang. Said she couldn't let us pass her, under the orders of someone called Queen. She was tougher than anything I've ever seen. We fought for a while, then Pyrrha found a way to immobilize her. Ren was charging up to take her out in one shot, but all the sudden Ruby showed up and…" his breath caught in his throat as he looked down at Pyrrha, before shaking his head a few times, "No… No, it had to have been and accident. She told us to retreat and get these two some medical treatment. Last I saw she'd used her semblance to pass right by Penny."

Yang's eyes widened as she considered what she'd just heard. Ruby was now between a brainwashed screwball girl who could rip airships out of the sky and the apparent mastermind of this whole plot. Those were lethal odds. "We need to get through there, now!" she cried as she took off past her friends.

"All right, you get them to the medics. We'll take care of the rest," Blake spoke calmly as she and Weiss started moving again, as well.

Once they'd caught up to Yang, the three found themselves entering a wide open room. Before they could take a step forward, a sword embedded itself in front of each of their feet. Standing directly in front of their goal was a tiny, orange haired girl wearing what looked like overalls. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Penny's voice sounded more serious than any of them thought was possible for such a strange and energetic girl. "I'm under orders to keep any intruders from making their way into this room."

"Penny, stop this! This isn't you talking, it's whoever's controlling you!" Blake shouted as she pulled Gambol Shroud off her back.

"On the contrary, Blake. No one can speak through me," Penny's eyes flashed for a moment before a trio of swords converged on her torso, deflecting the simultaneous ranged attacks which came from each girl. "That would make me a puppet. And after today, I am no one's puppet."

"Ugh, I don't have time for this!" Yang growled as she cocked her weapons, "Cover me!" was all she shouted before jetting forward with a shot boost. Before the levitating swords could reach their target, their flight paths were disrupted by the rapid shots from Gambol's gun form. Unable to ready another attack in time, Penny instead turned back to face her other remaining opponents.

"Give it up, Penny. We've got you outnumbered," Weiss ordered as a clockwork glyph formed under her feet.

"That's true. There are two of you. However," all Penny's swords moved to circle her slowly, "You only have three blades. I have ten."

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When Yang entered the control center of Amity, she dreaded what she might find. Was Ruby winning the fight or losing? Had she held on long enough for her sister to show up and help or was she already unconscious? Or worse? She didn't even want to put that worse into words lest it come true. Still, when she finally made it to where all the action was supposed to be, in no way was she expecting to see the business end of Crescent Rose's gun form while Ruby typed away at a console with her free hand.

"Sis, what are you-"

"My sister Yang used to sleep with a stuffed beowolf until she was thirteen. What was its name?" the hooded girl asked coldly, not bothering to turn and face her visitor. Whatever she was doing with the computer, it commanded the majority of her attention.

"What are you talking about?" the blonde asked, clearly very confused by her baby sister's alarmingly serious behavior.

"Answer the question or I shoot," Ruby demanded simply, finger brushing the trigger for good measure, "What was the beowolf's name?"

"Okay, okay. Jeez," Yang responded with minor annoyance, "His name was Smokey and he was an ursa… and I stopped sleeping with him when I was nine!"

"No you didn't," the younger girl quipped as she holstered her gun. With her second hand free, she doubled her focus on the console before her, "Sorry. I had to make sure you weren't just that umbrella girl in disguise."

Before continuing the conversation, Yang surveyed the rest of the room. Three bodies lay strewn across the floor. Two of them were burned to the point of being unrecognizable. The third was that of a woman. She had hair like black ash and her skin was fair in the places it wasn't stained with her own blood. "Is that…"

"Cinder Fall," Ruby responded as she kept typing. "Leader of Emerald and Mercury's team, go figure. Mastermind behind Roman's Dust robbery spree, the White Fang's increased aggression, and the virus that was formerly commanding all the Atlesian knights to attack the stadium."

"Formerly?"

"Her scroll was what she used to command them. Once I dealt with her, I took it and ordered all the drones to capture the White Fang forces and put them in a few airships."

"Wait, why send them to the airships? Shouldn't we keep them in the arena?"

"They, and everybody else, need to evacuate."

Well, that sure was news to Yang. "Why?"

Ruby let out a sigh, shoulders slumping a bit as she did. Yang knew the kind of stress that made her do that, which worried her all the more. "Because, she overclocked the biome generator and I can't stop what's coming next."

"And what's that?" the brawler asked tentatively. There was something different about Ruby. She was sharper, more focused. Usually, the only time she got to this level of serious was during a close fight or making a major weapon upgrade.

"The stadium is going to create a tornado meant to kill everyone still in the stands and send it to damage one of the walls keeping the Grimm out of Vale. With most of the experienced fighters stuck up here, the city will be ready for slaughter. That said, if I can manage to move Amity outside the kingdom and alter the targeting for something less important in the twenty minutes it's going to take to charge up, we can keep casualties to a minimum."

Wow. That was some plan. Yang was surprised her sister could think up something like that so quickly. She paused a second, "Ruby, how do you know all this? Did Cinder tell you before she…?"

Ruby sighed again and Yang caught the look of guilt in her eyes, "No, she didn't."

"Then, how did you figure it all out so fast? Blake mentioned you went straight here after the fighting broke out."

The red reaper refused to look her sister in the eye. Instead, continuing to focus on the set of coordinates she was typing in.

"Ruby… did you… know about this?"

Another sigh, like she was trying to bleed the stress from her body, "Yes."

"For how long?"

"…"  
"Ruby! I said for how long?"

The younger sister was shaking at this point, but she kept on typing. "Since before we got into Beacon."

The confession hit Yang harder than the bullets she'd stomached early. "H-how… Why... What do you...?"

"I-I didn't tell anyone because… because I planned on taking it, instead."


	2. The Greatest Trick Part 2

Yang Xiao Long was not the sort of person to easily succumb to anything. She took anything that tried to challenge her and used it to make herself stronger. Even her semblance reflected that. Many viewed her as unbreakable, a constant force that could surmount anything. That being said, the words coming out of her little sister's mouth devastated her in a way she hadn't felt since she almost got the two of them killed when they were children.

This couldn't be true. Ruby was just a baby, too innocent to do something so morally grey. Too loving to keep secrets from her older sister. Too faithful to the good of the people to ever put them in danger the way she had. Yet, there she stood. Blood-soaked hands staining the keyboard as she finished imputing the new coordinates for what was basically a giant gun that fired natural disasters. Yang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She decided to settle on righteous fury. It usually got her through the day.

"You've known everything they were planning, from the start," Yang didn't bother keeping the growl out of her voice, "And you didn't tell any of our friends. You didn't even tell me! All so you could get some super gun?! I knew you had an obsession with weapons, but-"

"I was going to tell you before the final match!" Ruby cut in defensively as she finally turned from the console, "You, Blake, Weiss, and JNPR were all going to be invited into the plan in the next couple days. Cinder sprung her plan sooner than I'd expected and there wasn't any time to explain to any of you. I just had to get here and end things quick."

"Oh, you were _going_ to tell us?" the boxer shot back, using all of her willpower to keep her eyes from flashing red, "Well, here's a question, sis. Why didn't you tell us after Blake fought Torchwick at the docks? Or maybe after the first time you saw Cinder Fall walking around our school? Or maybe after the White Fang blew a hole in the city wall and caused a Grimm invasion?! Any one of those should've convinced you to tell Ozpin everything you knew, so why not make the easy call? Did you need this thing so badly you couldn't help yourself?"

"The incident at the breach just convinced me even more why I needed to take this!" the young huntress made a grand gesture to the room, and by extension stadium, as a whole, "All it took was a train full of bombs and those monsters were inside the city in minutes. If that's how fragile this peace is, I'm gonna have to do something about it!"

"Do what? Kill all the Grimm? All of humanity couldn't do it and you think you can by yourself?"

"Maybe I do, Yang. Maybe, if someone would actually step up and try to change the status quo, instead of build monuments to it, we might not have to live in fear of those monsters all our lives! What's the point of all our wisdom, science, and strength if we refuse to do something with it?"

The air surrounding Yang had begun to heat itself rapidly, giving a sort of shimmer over her body, "All this talk about changing the status quo reminds me of the White Fang, sis. You keep this going and you're gonna turn out just like them."

"I've taken steps to make sure that doesn't happen," Ruby shifted gears as she spoke, sounding softer as she made her appeal, "That's why I wanted you all in on this. Yang, please, I want you to be on my side in this. Think of the adventure, think of the good we could do. We could tame the most dangerous parts of Remnant. We can get Penny away from Ironwood's control so she can be her own person."

The last sentence made something click in Yang's mind. How Ruby had made it through alone. What the ginger girl had meant when she said she was no one's puppet. "You were already working with Penny," she breathed. A second later, she realized something far worse, "JNPR almost had her taken down until you showed up. Jaune said something happened."

"It's not what you think!" panic was very evident in the girl's voice, "Penny had to play her part or Cinder would get suspicious. She was supposed to keep out everyone except me, in case one of you was actually the umbrella girl. I was going to convince Jaune they were needed somewhere else, but by the time I got there they… they were about to destroy her and I-I… it was an accident!" at some point during her explanation, Ruby had started hugging herself to try and stop from shaking. There were tears in her eyes and once more she looked more a frightened teenager than some delusional mastermind. "Even with my semblance I wasn't sure I could get in front of them quick enough a-and I thought their aura levels were higher. So I-I… just…"

"You attacked them…"

"They were going to kill her!"

"Because you didn't tell them she was on our side."

"Yang, I-"

"They might have died because of you!"

"And we almost died because of you, once upon a time! Wallowing in regret won't solve anything!"

The blonde gasped before shaking her head slowly, dumbstruck as to have her darkest memory thrown back at her. "Sis, enough. You need to stop this. You've already crossed enough lines as it is," Yang held out her hand, praying to everything she held dear that Ruby would take it, "You already retargeted. All you have to do is walk away from this and we can talk to Ozpin."

Ruby stared at her sister's outstretched palm for what felt like an eternity. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, from the outside. Finally, she responded.

"No. I can't leave with nothing. I have to honor the sacrifices I let happen."

Crescent Rose and Ember Celica were brandished near simultaneously.

"Guess I'll just have to bring you back the hard way, then," the brawler asserted as she took an offensive stance.

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 _Meanwhile, Beacon Academy_

Unlike her three "team members", Emerald was not a fighter by trade. Sure, she could handle herself with Grimm and draw on huntsmen with lightning efficiency, but enforcement and assassination was more Mercury's assignment. Where she shined was in areas requiring stealth, cunning, and very nimble fingers. That was why, rather than start raising hell up at Amity, she had been sent down to the practically empty Beacon Academy for some good old fashioned vault cracking. Her joy at having a real challenge worthy of her status as a thief after weeks of barely being allowed to pick pockets was only slightly dimmed by the endless stream of blithering complaints coming through her earpiece.

 _"I mean, I feel like I got the most screwed out of everybody involved in this plan. I have to throw my fight against one of the pests who've been in our business for months, then I get to experience the oh so pleasant joy of having to rebuild one of my legs from scratch, AND NOW I don't even get to join the battle that will go down in history as one of the biggest bloodbaths ever BECAUSE I'M SUPPOSED TO BE STUCK IN A CAST."_

Emerald gave an exasperated sigh as she tore into the wiring of Ozpin's personal elevator in the hopes of hacking the controls and riding it straight down to the vault that Cinder said held the key to her power. "You're such a little girl, today. Look, Roman's been in prison for three weeks and Adam is going to die with everyone else in the stands. You honestly think you've got it worse than either of them? Do you know what they do to guys like Roman in prison? I've seen, uh, certain films that detail it. Not pretty… unless you're into that…"

 _"…Okay, I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear a word of what you just said and you're going to clear all browsing history before Cinder finds out and punishes us both. Anyway, how are you coming on this vault thing?"_

"I've just about got the elevator working. After that, it's just a quick ride to the bottom to pull the plug and I'll be out in a flash."

The most interesting thing about this break-in was that it wasn't an object they were after. It was a girl on life support. Amber Autumn. Cinder had only said that name once, in Emerald's presence. It was like she had some kind of aversion to it. Like she feared the woman she'd all but killed. Emerald had no idea why that could be, since Cinder was so unflappable in regards to everything else. It didn't matter, though. If the order was to kill this girl, the thief would play the part of the butcher without hesitation. After all, morality was just an afterthought when you had unconditional loyalty towards someone.

At last, the elevator started moving. As she waited to reach the bottom floor of bottom floors, she did her best not to be driven mad by her partner's prattle. Apparently he'd gotten onto the subject of what they ought to do with all the Atlesian knights once Amity was completely theirs. Something about programming each of them with different fighting styles and creating a robot fighting league. It sounded like the stupidest thing she had ever heard. Par for the course with the team's muscle, though. He was only really a savant when it came to fighting.

The device came to a stop and opened to reveal what could easily be called a catacomb. How Ozpin managed to create something this large underground with only a handful of people knowing it had to have been an insanely expensive feat. Most likely at the cost of much effort by his second in command. Emerald really did not envy that woman's position as super maid to a school filled to the brim with walking disaster areas.

Strolling down the wide corridor, she was confused to find… nothing. No girl in critical condition. No life support systems monitoring her every vital sign. Nothing. "Aw crap," the outlaw groaned as she put a finger to her earpiece, "Merc, we've got a problem. I think they moved the target. Cinder isn't gonna be happy about this…" Expecting some smug comment about her lack of ability in her job, Emerald was surprised when, instead, the line was completely silent. "Mercury, did you read me?"

 _"Emerald… You need to get out of there, right now."_

"What? I can't do that. I need to find a lead on where the target was moved to."

 _"No point anymore. Cinder… she's… she's…"_

The thief was taken by surprise at how shaken her partner sounded. Unless he had to put on an act, he rarely sounded anything but confident in every way, "What are you talking about? What happened to Cinder?!"

Before he could respond, Emerald felt her scroll vibrate. Looking at it, she saw it was a multimedia message sent from Cinder's device. Taking a deep breath, she selected it to play. A voice, one she knew, one she hated, rang out through the speaker.

 _"To the 'teammates' of Cinder Fall. Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and, heh, 'Mint'. Amity Coliseum is now under my control. The White Fang have been captured, the knights are following my commands, everyone is being evacuated through the airships as we speak, and the tornado that was meant to devastate Vale and create a breach in the city wall will, instead, be used exterminate the mass of Grimm making their way toward the kingdom. Oh, and one more thing. As you can see,"_ video began playing on the screen. It was an image that nearly made Emerald vomit when she saw in, _"Cinder is dead. Your pictures have been put on every television screen and hologram tuned to watch the tournament and your personal information has been sent directly to the Atlas fleet. You three are now among the most wanted criminals in all four kingdoms for conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism, murder, theft, attempted murder, and pretty much every bad thing the White Fang has done since its creation. If you had any intention of staying in the city to tie up loose ends, I think you're out of luck. Consider this warning as me honoring the fake friendship you and I had, Emerald. Start running and don't stop. I won't be hunting you, but the rest of the world will be. And Mercury? Have fun running in that cast."_

Emerald's scroll went hurdling towards the nearest wall, shattering into countless pieces on impact as the thief let out a scream of rage and despair. Cinder was gone. The woman who had found her on the street, taken her in, honed her skills, literally given her the clothes on her back, and given her a cause to believe in when she had nothing to live for was gone forever. All because of some _kid._ A little girl who never should have even been at this school. How had she done it? How did she outthink the smartest, most ruthless woman Emerald had ever known?

The outlaw hadn't noticed when exactly she had fallen to her knees and started sobbing on the floor. It was difficult to say if she even remembered where she was. It didn't matter, anymore. Nothing mattered but the pain. She wished she had something to hit, something to kill. Anything she could pass the pain onto. But the room was just a massive, empty space. The only company she had were the echoes of her own weeping.

 _"Em? Em! Emerald, you need to listen to me!"_

Emerald sniffled, only just noticing the voice in her ear, "Go to hell! Like you could even-"

 _"Even what? Understand how you feel? Newsflash, she took me in, too,"_ it was just then she realized how truly broken Mercury's voice sounded. She could picture him, right now. Head in his hands, tears running down his cheeks, _"There'll be time to cry, later. Right now, you need to get to ground level. I stole one of the airships. I'm gonna pick you up and we're getting out of here."_

"Why are you even bothering?!" Emerald growled as she curled her hands into tight fists. The anger didn't last and she found her body go limp, "Why not just leave without me?"

 _"Because you're all I have left, you idiot. Now get out of that vault."_

She could practically hear the wry grin on his face. "You are such a moron," she sighed as she got to her feet. He was right, though. Maybe they had both lost the only woman they could call mother. They were still family. They needed to be there for one another.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Meanwhile, Atlas Flagship_

Roman Torchwick was no stranger to the prison scene. Being a career criminal meant clashing with law enforcement on a regular basis and everyone got unlucky at some point or another. Roman never considered himself a lucky guy to begin with. If we were being honest, he could probably start up a blog dedicated to reviewing the cell he had been lounging in for the past month.

 _This Atlas built single bed is all the rage for newly acquired enemies of the state. While a bit cramped, the space is clean and comfortable with that futuristic Atlesian aesthetic. Meals are delivered on a tight schedule, as are interrogations. I felt so special, because General Ironwood himself always managed to take time out of his busy schedule to come and see me. Mind you, I didn't see all that many other people. If you're looking to socialize, this is not the restraining facility for you. If you're a people person, I would personally suggest this nice little spot in Vacuo called The Pit of Despair. Very active community with lots of exciting ways to spend that life sentence they love to dish out over there. That's another review entirely, though. Next, let's discuss the general conduct of the guards. Some guards are great. Others just feel like cold, emotionless machines. Probably because they're robots, but that's not really an excuse when I've already met an android girl who could probably out-adorable Neo if she really tried. The least they could do is program these knights to say knight-inspired stuff, but-_

His internal monologue was cut short when the door to his cell began to open. Striking a dignified, yet antagonizing, pose incase his old buddy James had come for another visit, he was quite taken aback by the space in front of his cell being filled by an extremely diminutive girl with black pigtails and green eyes. It barely took Roman half a second to recognize that confident smirk.

"New form isn't bad, Neo," he greeted his favorite little sidekick, before being taken by complete surprise when she dove forward and gave him a strong hug. "Heh… I'm glad to see you too, kiddo," he assured her as he gave the girl a soft pat on the back, "There are security cameras everywhere, though. Can't ruin our rep by getting all mushy in the middle of a jailbreak, now can we?"

Reluctantly, Neo (or rather Mint) pulled away from her partner in crime and produced her scroll, panic now commanding her expression as she replayed the video Cinder's scroll had sent her ten minutes ago. As it went on, Torchwick's face turned from amused, to shocked, to completely amazed.

"Red managed to pull that off? I don't believe it…" Roman remembered each time he had run into that little girl playing super hero. This was in no way the picture he had painted of her. Sure, the kid was an outstanding fighter, could probably beat him if he was having a bad day. Beating-no, _killing_ Cinder Fall was another world entirely. Yet, there was the evidence. Cinder was dead and he-wait… Cinder was dead. A wide grin broke onto the criminal's face as he breathed out a small chuckle, "I think our luck just changed."

His beloved sidekick partner quirked her eyebrow in confusion, clearly surprised by Roman's lack of terror at his boss being killed and all her plans being foiled by some teenager with a cape.

"Look, why did we get involved with Cinder in the first place?" he asked her simply.

Neo responded by turning her eye color a radiant gold with a noticeable glint coming off the left one.

"Exactly. We were expecting a score we could retire on. Now, what kept us working for her in the end, after we realized she was completely insane?"

This time, the minute woman whited her eyes out entirely and drew her thumb across her throat in an overdramatic spectacle.

"Bingo. But now, that looming death threat is gone and we're free to pick a more… stable career path," the smirk on the master criminal's face grew with each word. Only after finishing his statement did he finally choose to rise and exit his holding area, "First thing's first, we're getting out of here and we're heading for the nearest bar. I haven't had a drink in ages."

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 _Meanwhile, Vale Airspace  
_

Weiss, Blake, and Yang really had to admit how much they had grown to dislike being knocked unconscious over the course of their crime fighting careers. It was likely comparable to that of a hangover, not that any of them would ever admit to any underage drinking if they knew that experience. What made it worse was the usual lack of a comfortable surface to lay on when they came to. Train floors and asphalt were not the first sensation you wanted to wake up to. In this case, the less than sanitary floor of the public airship Weiss came to in was probably the second most unpleasant thing she'd experience, that evening. Realizing where she was, she bolted to her feet in a panic, only to notice her fellow passengers doing the same. Among the crowd of civilians all crammed into the vehicle were Blake and Yang. Blake seemed to be coming to as well, though Yang had apparently been conscious a bit longer as she chose to merely stare out one of the windows in the direction of the ever shrinking Amity Coliseum.

"You're okay!" Blake exclaimed as she found her way to her partner, noticing two things as she did. First, Yang made no move to acknowledge her presence and, second, Yang's hair was roughly a quarter of the length it had been the last time she had seen it. It was actually above her shoulders, now. On the grand list of things Blake never expected to see, that ranked just above Ruby having a salad for lunch. Speaking of which…

"Where's Ruby?" Weiss asked the question they both had on their minds. Her voice was a little shaky, it was clear she was worried about her partner's wellbeing. After what they'd last seen of JNPR, that seemed a very appropriate response.

Yang didn't respond. She just kept staring out at Amity, her grip tightening on the railing she had been clutching. That was not in any way what Weiss or Blake wanted to see.

"Yang, what happened?" the faunus girl took her turn in questioning her friend, "Is Ruby okay? Did you two stop whoever was doing? Did you-"

Whatever inquiries that remained were cut short as the boxer let out a deep growl and lashed out, shattering the portal in front of her with a savage punch. Wind now raced through the cabin, roaring in their ears. Yang barely paid mind to it, or the lacerations that had formed on her fist. She just went back to gazing at Amity.

Finally, Weiss and Blake realized that their airship wasn't the only thing moving. The coliseum was making its way slowly but sure past the city walls, where no doubt there was a legion of Grimm heading for the city after their dip in moral. It was then Weiss saw the massive vortex peeking out at the very tip of the stadium. Once Amity was over the walls, the great tornado was unleashed, sending out gusts strong enough to shake their ship. The event only lasted ten minutes before dissipating, leaving a deathly calm in its place. It was then Weiss noticed Amity was not returning to Vale airspace, but rather sailing off towards the moonlit horizon. She understood Yang's silence, now. Ruby had stayed behind and she wasn't coming back.


	3. The Greatest Trick Part 3

Of his bodily needs, sleep was Lie Ren's favorite to attend to. Whether it be a small catnap or sleeping in on a Saturday, there was nothing quite like the sense of peace which came with his rest. Of course, when your partner was a literal energy conduit, such moments of bliss would always tragically be cut short by some outburst or another. How blessed, he felt, for having woken gradually. Well, until a wave of pain spiked through his body and he remembered the events leading up to his slumber.

Sorting through his recall, the martial artist played back the intense battle his team had against a single girl. It was ridiculous how easily she had been able to keep up with all four of them simultaneously. His speed, Nora's strength and Pyrrha's skill all being expertly directed by Jaune's tactics and yet this "Penny's" defenses managed to account for each of them in every conceivable combination. Ren could picture vividly Storm Flowers' shots bouncing ineffectively off a circle of levitating swords as he tried vainly to interfere with the physical manhandling Nora was being given in close quarters. This had persisted for several minutes until Pyrrha realized the girl they were fighting had a strangely large supply of metal in her body. Even with the perfect semblance to counter such a threat, it took everything the champion had to restrain the metallic young woman. They had limited time and Nora was in no shape to act swiftly, so it fell to Ren to focus his aura for the final strike. Just as he had all of his power focused into the palm of his hand, an explosion of force and sound louder than anything he had ever heard before pushed him past the brink and turned his world black.

As the memory of that crack hit him, the young man bolted up to a sitting position of what he realized was a hospital bed. As his training compelled him to do, Ren scanned the room from left to right to figure out where he was. The first thing to meet his eyes was a pair of IVs, one attached to his own arm while the other was connected to a neck brace fitted and very unconscious Pyrrha Nikos. At her bedside sat their fearless leader, looking more fearful by the second as the blond took note of the sudden motion across from him. Judging by Jaune's slowed reactions and disheveled appearance, it was clear to Ren that his fellow teammate had not slept in some time.

Continuing the scan, Ren saw a mass of flora worthy of a small garden crowding the table on the far wall. Flowers of all types could be recognized. A vase filled with daffodils, a single lotus, two bouquets of red roses, a potted sunflower, and more. Apparently he had been out long enough to have accumulated well-wishers. That was a concerning thought. New questions formed from that revelation. What happened to Pyrrha? Had the White Fang been defeated? What was their plan to begin with? Where was Nora?

The last question was answered almost immediately with a glance to Ren's right, where a petite redhead was curled up in a folding chair, practically fetal in position and in a state of restless sleep. That explained why he hadn't been woken up by his usual alarm. He felt a pang of guilt as he considered the scare she must have gone through. Why was it he was always getting hurt in front of her? Reluctantly, he reached for his partner, only to retract his hand as she suddenly stirred awake. Groggily, she opened her eyes and looked around, finally setting on the upright form of her partner. Expression changing from exhausted to ecstatic in what felt like a single frame, Nora pounced forward to wrap Ren in a tight hug.

Wincing slightly at the pressure to his wounds, Ren smiled regardless as he returned the embrace. " **Nora, I-** " he paused. He'd formed the words in his head, but he hadn't heard them leave his mouth as it moved. Had he lost his voice? His throat did feel a little dry. Maybe he just needed a drink. Nora, however, had apparently noticed something amiss and pulled away to face him. She mouthed his name, a questioning look in her eyes. Then, she began mouthing whole sentences to the point where he couldn't keep up. What was she doing? " **Why aren't you talking?** "

Ren stopped, revelation dawning on him. Come to think of it, everything had been eerily silent for what he imagined was a very busy hospital. Reaching up to his ears, he could feel the thick bandaging around each one. Oh. Oh no.

" **Nora, what's going on?** " Ren called out to his partner, or, at least, he thought he had. He couldn't hear the sound of his own voice so he couldn't be sure he was saying anything. " **Why can't I hear you? Why can't I hear me?!** " Panic was taking root in him as the silence persisted. He had no idea when he had started shaking, nor did he know when Jaune had placed a hand upon his shoulder to try and steady him. " **Jaune!** " he winced as, once again, he heard nothing of his own exclamation.

Jaune had a small frown on his face, as though this moment was one he had been dreading. Standing up, he walked over to the other side of the room, taking a hanging clipboard from its hook. Clicking a pen that, nevertheless, made no clicking noise, he scribbled down something in slow, tired strokes. When he was finished, he handed the board over to Ren as gently as he could. It was a message.

 _You and Pyrrha got hurt bad in the last battle. You've both been unconscious for three days. The doctors say your eardrums were ruptured. I'm so sorry._

Those last three words hammered home that this was real. " **No…** " Ren looked over to Nora, the denial in his brain begging her to tell him this wasn't happening. All she could offer was a confirming nod as she struggled to keep from crying. And like that, he began thrashing about as the shock took him. He was sure he had started yelling and the pain he felt said he was trying viciously to tear the bandages off his ears. Before he could hurt himself any further, much smaller and stronger arms bound tightly around him, hugging him close so he couldn't see the tears streaming down their owner's face. His struggles weakened with each thrash, until all he had the energy to do was sob in his eternal silence. " **I just want to hear you… I just want to hear you…** "

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Blake Belladonna was no stranger to the change brought on by a great cataclysm. Such events had shaped her into the person she was, today. After suffering unfathomable loss and priceless opportunity both in the aftermaths of climactic circumstance, she had learned to be ready for anything once the ball started rolling. That was why, while watching the damaged forms of her close friends through the window to their room, her feelings of shock and grief at Ren and Pyrrha's injuries had been more subdued than one might expect when presented with such a situation.

"Ren's auditory senses are completely shot," Jaune informed her as he stood alongside, gazing in at his team. "The doctors say they could install a cochlear implant, but the device is too delicate to handle intense aura channeling."

"So he has to choose between regaining his hearing or his career as a huntsman," Blake narrowed her eyes as she completed the blond's train of thought for him.

"Yeah, and we all know he's not about to give up on fighting," the leader continued grimly, scratching the patchy stubble he had gained from his extended stay in the ward. "Nora's just happy he's still alive. She's gone through three notepads on doodles, jokes, and stories, trying to lift his spirits. His responses are… mixed. Sometimes we might get a weak chuckle out of him, but most of the time he just sort of shuts down."

"At least he's got _some_ laughter in him," the faunus conceded as her eyes shifted to the redhead in the neighboring bed. "She still hasn't woken up?"

"Not once. Her brain is still active, at least. Doctors say all we can do is wait," Jaune sighed as his gaze lingered on the strongest girl he had ever known, now so very frail. Closing his eyes, his hands clenched and unclenched before turning to face his visitor squarely, "Blake, where's Ruby? Nora and I haven't seen her visit once. She should be apologizing to Ren for what happened. Explaining to me why it happened…"

The dark girl was silent for a while, unsure of what she was supposed to say, next. She settled for the truth, "Ruby… isn't here."

Jaune's expression was split somewhere between confusion and worry, "What are you talking about? She wasn't on the death tolls, the last time I checked them. Did something happen? Did she make it out?"

"As far as I know, she's still alive. It's just…" Blake let out a weary sigh as she lowered her voice in case there were any eavesdroppers, "There'll be an official announcement any day, at this point. She's not coming back to Beacon. Or Vale, for that matter."

It hardly took a genius to put two and two together. "You're telling me _she's_ the one who took it?!" the blond hissed as he tried desperately to process the shock and betrayal he was feeling. "That thing was a symbol of peace and cooperation between the four kingdoms and she just _took_ it? The hell was she thinking?!"

"Knowing Ruby? She probably thought she could use it to elevate her hunting to the next level. Then again, I'm not sure I really knew her, at all," the young woman couldn't help to keep to frown off of her face as she considered the one thing she had never expected to happen. The Ruby she knew had been a true optimist, always chasing the all-encompassing happy ending she believed so much existed. The younger girl's philosophies had played off of Blake's own with a sort of lightened reflection. At least, that was what Blake had thought. Now, her leader was commanding an army at the helm of a super weapon. One she had apparently been plotting to take since before they had even met, if Yang was to be believed.

"The feeling's pretty mutual, right now," Jaune was practically growling. What was it with Beacon and its secrets? Blake hid her ethnicity behind a bow, he snuck in with false transcripts, and now one of his best friends had been keeping her morally grey schemes behind equally grey eyes. "Look, I need some time to mull this over. I won't tell anyone before the announcement is made."

"I understand. I should probably get going, anyway," Blake turned to leave, "I don't really know what I'm supposed to say in a situation like this, but I guess I'll stick with I'm sorry."

JNPR's leader tensed up for a moment before responding, "You're not the one who needs to apologize."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that evening, Blake found her way back to RWBY's dorm. A shell of what it once was, practically everything had been confiscated by Atlas for investigative purposes, with even the infamous bunk beds being replaced with a trio of portable cots. That the three remaining members of the team had not been utterly detained by Ironwood's forces was nothing short of a miracle, likely brought on by some combination of Goodwitch, Qrow, and Winter stepping in to defend them. Not that it would solve all their problems, in the long run. Blake had a feeling they would all be facing a trial or two before this was over. That Yang had been awaiting criminal charges for the incident with Mercury had hardly helped her appearance of guilt after her sister took off with Amity. Neither had the exposure of Blake's past as a White Fang agent, for that matter.

Though they had avoided much of any discussion in the past four days since Cinder Fall's last gambit had occurred, WBY had no illusion about how they must have looked to anyone inspecting the matter. Even if they managed to win their freedom in court, there was no chance of simply returning to classes after damage control was addressed. Half the student population would be gunning for them and their very presence would paint a bullseye onto Beacon. Blake hoped that Ruby had truly understood how this plot would change things for everyone even remotely involved and not just her.

Yang and Weiss were noticeably absent from the room, though this was far from unexpected. Weiss was doing everything she could to negotiate with General Ironwood through Winter and Yang had sought out her uncle to determine how they were going to break the news to Yang and Ruby's father. Blake, herself, was trying to do whatever she could to help with the fallout that had come from the event. Today she had been helping the hospital and checking up on JNPR's condition. It was hard, busy work and she was glad to have it as a distraction.

"I saw Jaune today," her words echoed through the barren space as she took a seat on her bed, wishing desperately that she still had access to her books. "He's healed up. Nora is too. Ren finally woke up, yesterday, but he can't hear anything. Pyrrha, well… nothing's changed yet. We can't tell what she'll be like until she wakes up. I don't even know what to hope for, at this point. None of them are going to be the same after this. Nobody will, really. Ruby's gone, Torchwick escaped, Cinder's team have all vanished, nobody knows what happened to Professor Ozpin, the media is going crazy asking what happened to Amity Coliseum, and I can already feel the tension building between Atlas and Vale.

"It's like… someone threw a bag of firecrackers into a furnace. A lot of them exploded right away, but any second there could be another pop. Weiss and Yang are dealing with it their own way, I think. Weiss has been going nonstop with her negotiations and organizing. She doesn't even acknowledge someone bringing Ruby up. I think she's in denial about this. She probably thinks Ruby was being controlled by someone. She doesn't have it in her to think her own partner would keep this from her. Yang, on the other hand… I don't know where to start. She doesn't talk to anyone but her uncle a lot of the time and if she sees or hears anything that reminds her of her sister she acts so angry and hurt. No one's been brave enough to ask her about her hair, myself included. I remember the first time I saw her fighting. All it took was a strand out of place and she exploded with a temper I'd never seen before. Now, she doesn't even seem to notice it's gone.

"No one's heard anything from the White Fang since they were evacuated. They've probably gone back into hiding. I guess Ruby was giving them a second chance by ordering them off, instead of letting them stay and die. I hope they can learn something from that," Blake turned to the objects she had been speaking to the entire time. A scarlet sword housed in a burgundy scabbard and a cracked Grimm mask with red flames detailing it. A few tears trickled down her cheeks as she gazed at all she had left of her old mentor. "I… I wish you could've learned from it. Maybe, if you could've met the friends I've made, the family I've found, you could have remembered what we used to stand for. I don't know. I just hope you're at peace now, wherever you are."


	4. The Greatest Trick Part 4

Glynda Goodwitch never realized what an awful sight the headmaster's office was when one was trapped behind the headmaster's desk. She had always thought Ozpin was just being his usual immature self whenever he made any attempt to shirk his responsibilities and vanish before all the paperwork was completed, usually meaning it was up to her to ensure he stayed on task. Now, though, escaping this clockwork cage was all Glynda wanted to do. She wanted to go outside, to see her students and personally confirm that they were all healthy and safe. She knew they weren't, though, and there was nothing she could do about that. Of the 32 hunters in training that had perished in the attack on the coliseum, 14 hailed from Beacon. On top of that, over 60 students had been hospitalized, not all of whom were recovering smoothly. A few had been crippled in one way or another and some of them would be retiring from their careers before they really even started. Then there was the matter Team RWBY.

In all her years, Glynda did not think she would ever regret any decision as much as she did relenting to Professor Ozpin's choice for Ruby Rose to attend Beacon two years early. She hadn't liked the idea in the first place, though for far different reasons than were apparent at the moment. When she had met the cloaked girl she saw the wild, dangerously impulsive nature quite alike to Qrow or Taiyang in their youths. Ozpin saw differently. He saw the kind, nurturing spirit that reminded him so much of the Summer he missed every day. Neither of them considered the girl might have inherited any kind of scheming persona from the fourth member of STRQ. Why would they? Raven had vanished well before Ruby had been born. They didn't even share any blood. Yet, for whatever reason, the two had the same colors. She had never dared to question either the surviving members of STRQ why that was for fear of dredging up old memories they wanted to simply forget.

As for the rest of the team? She could only do so much for those girls. Beacon was coming under scrutiny, James was on a warpath, and there were only so many hours in a day to manage everything, even when Glynda had completely taken sleep out of the equation for the past two days. At least she had come to a new understanding of why her predecessor loved his coffee so much. Not that she didn't have an idea, before this. She was no stranger to long nights on and off campus. Huntresses were trained for that sort of thing. Still, the new weariness that came with the job of temporary headmistress weighed heavily on her mind.

Currently, she was writing letters of apology to the families of those students who fell in battle. She recognized each name off the list. Their fighting styles, their demeanors, some she had taken a greater interest in, some she had faith would have gone on to become virtuous protectors of the people. Every time she signed another apology, it felt like cold iron plunging into her chest and forcing the air from her lungs. She was currently on letter #6. A second year boy by the name Cyprus Scarlet. He employed a morningstar that was hollowed to house elemental dust. Spectacular offensive capabilities, by Glynda had found his defenses lacking during sparring. Maybe, if she had devoted more time to correcting that, her student could have survived. She had to shake herself quickly to oust such a thought. Ozpin once told her the only time for guilt was after there was nothing left to do with the day. She would need to keep that in mind, from now on.

Before Glynda could return to the task at hand, her focus was disrupted by the door opening. While she had no appointments for this time, another teacher dropping by to either check up on her or deliver yet another token of bad news was hardly out of the question. Instead, however, she found the surprisingly confident figure of one of her first years stepping through the threshold. The young Mr. Arc looked considerably older than he had the very last week, his expression tired but driven as he made his way to a seat placed in front of the desk.

"Miss Goodwitch," Jaune greeted respectfully as he settled into his chair.

"Mr. Arc. This is something of a surprise," Glynda responded earnestly. As far as she had been told, the young man had neglected to leave the hospital due to the condition of his teammates. If he was standing before her this afternoon, it must have meant something had changed.

"I came to tell you Pyrrha woke up, this morning."

He certainly wasn't interested in wasting time. Still, the older woman felt a small relief drift through her. One less young life was hanging in the balance. "That's good news. How is she?"

"She's not going to die," Jaune responded bluntly, "But that's where the good news ends. She suffered some brain damage due to the trauma the shot from…" he tensed up, as though all he felt was slowing the processing in his mind, "Crescent Rose caused her. She's still herself. Her speech, though… it's like she can't always find the words."

Glynda's spirit was beginning to drop as quickly as it had risen, "I'm… very sorry to hear that."

The young man shook his head tersely before speaking again, "That's not the worst of it. As soon as the doctors left, she tried to use her semblance to move a paperclip when I wasn't looking. It gave her a migraine so strong she almost passed out."

"That's very unfortunate," the deputy headmistress could hear the hollowness in her own voice. She saw enough of the champion's fighting style to realize how important her magnetism was in a fight. It was very unlikely she would ever win another tournament. It was even uncertain whether she would still be a capable huntress.

"I know what you're thinking, right now. We just lost one of the greatest warriors in a generation to this attack," Jaune leaned forward so his knees supported his elbows, "That's why I'm here."

"Mr. Arc, if you're looking to take vengeance on Miss Rose-"

"I couldn't care less what happens to Ruby, right now," the boy cut in harshly. "All I care about is what happens to Pyrrha. I remember something was weighing on her around the time the finals began. It just so happens her change in attitude lines up perfectly with Professor Ozpin calling her into his office. When I asked Pyrrha what was wrong, all she would say was that she had an opportunity to reach her destiny. I want to know what exactly that entails."

Glynda was at a loss for words. Yet another student was meddling in secret affairs right in front of her. The only difference was he made no effort to hide it. "Mr. Arc, I assure you I have no idea what you could be referring to."

No one would have thought Jaune could muster a glare so sharp. "You think I'd fall for that after everything that's happened? You were Professor Ozpin's right hand. You wouldn't have that position if he didn't trust you."

That lie certainly hadn't worked. "That the headmaster trusted me does not mean a can speak of such things without permission," she responded. "Please, leave this be. For your own sake."

"You think I even care about my own sake, anymore?! Either tell me now or I swear I'll find out on my own!" Jaune had to stop and collect himself before he started yelling at the woman who could kill him with her mind. "Ma'am, my team is never going to be the same. I knew that before either of them woke up. I know Pyrrha isn't going to be at one hundred percent, no matter how hard she tries. If there's _anything_ I can do to give her a better chance, I want to know about it. Please."

It was official. These children were growing up far too quickly. Glynda observed her visitor in silence for a while. When she had witnessed Miss Nikos willingly partner with this lanky boy in the Emerald Forest, she had no idea what the young champion saw in him. Now, though, it was becoming clearer. The deputy headmistress raised a hand to rub her weary eyes. Maybe it was the conviction he was showing. Maybe it was how his desire to learn that which was denied to him reminded her of a certain someone else. Maybe it was the lack of any substantial rest. Regardless, she relented that it was her time to make the decisions.

"Mr. Arc, what is your favorite fairytale?"

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"Again."

Bang!

Clash!

Counter!

"Again."

Bang!

Clash!

Counter!

"Again."

…

"I said, again!"

…

"Again!"

Smash!

"Ya know, anyone watching us right now wouldn't have any problem thinking you really did just up and attack that kid during the finals," Qrow quipped as he eyed what had once been a rack of training weights before his eldest niece made them the outlet for her rage-splosion.

Yang didn't bother to make a retort, instead moving back to the center of the training ring and resetting her stance. "Just come at me again," was all she had to say.

Slumping his shoulders in exasperation, the scythe master brandished his weapon once more, barrel pointed behind him as he readied the shot that would launch him forward. Funny enough, Qrow was not the one who developed this technique, nor did he use it all that much in regular combat. It had been his adorably treacherous little protégé who invented and honed such an unorthodox tactic. That was one of the things Qrow had loved best about training his younger niece. So much time had gone into developing her own style, one that perfectly fit her strengths and weaknesses. That was how one became both a master and an artist.

Bang!

Just as he had, so many times before, the old teacher burst forward in a blur of motion. At the same time, he swung his weapon forward to meet the blonde girl in front of him.

Clash!

Just as she had, so many times before, the young girl raised her right forearm to guard, solidly making contact with the blade before it could harm her.

Counter!

The dance continued as it had before. Yang followed up with a left straight, narrowly dodged by Qrow leaning to his right and leaping backwards to regain a safe distance.

"Again."

"We've been doing this for the last hour. Take a break, kid."

"No! Not until I've got this down," came Yang's stubborn reply as she ran both hands through her hair. Both parties cringed when those golden locks failed to even hit her shoulders when they settled. Yang had loved her hair almost as much as she had loved her sister. Irony was a real bitch, sometimes.

"Got it down?" Qrow repeated incredulously, "You've had this move down since you were fifteen. I remember back when you and Ru… when the two of you would spar until you were both nearly unconscious. You've never had an issue dealing with this technique."

"That's obviously not true, or else it wouldn't just be the two of us here!"

Well, there was the real heart of the issue, right there. The dusty old bird sat down cross-legged on the matt, patting the space beside him. To his relief, Yang gave in and sat down. "So. Are you finally gonna tell me exactly what happened up there?"

What happened up there. The blonde would had given a wry chuckle if she had the capacity to laugh for the last few days. Everyone wanted to know the details of her greatest failure. The military, Goodwitch, her friends, and especially her family. They all wanted to hear from the last person to speak with the mastermind before she made her stage exit, stage in tow. How was she supposed to explain when she didn't really understand, herself? She had to try, at least.

"The first thing she did when I saw her was point her gun at me. Made me answer a dumb question from our childhood. Said it was to make sure I wasn't an illusion or someone in disguise."

"Heh. That's pretty clever…" Qrow remarked before shutting up when he noticed the glare being directed at him.

"Anyway, after I proved I was me she put Crescent Rose away. She didn't turn to face me, though. Whatever she was doing on that computer was too important. She kept talking, explaining Cinder's plan and what she was after, telling me how she would be able to stop it, you get the idea. It dawned on me pretty soon that she knew way more than she should have. When I pressed her about it, she told me she'd known all about this since before Beacon.

"I was mad. Really mad. Here was my little sister, the sweetest brat in the world who I could trust with anything. She'd lied to me, used me, all for some crazy scheme. Some big prize she decided was more important to her than her family and friends. Well, everyone except Penny."

"The Atlas girl she took with her? What was their deal, anyway?"

"From what I could tell? The biggest case of puppy love I'd ever seen. You wouldn't believe how mushy it could get when they were both in a room. I couldn't wait for Dad to see how they acted, together. He would've thrown such a fit at Ruby falling in love for some perky ginger."

"Pretty sure I would've had a problem with it, too. The girl was around Ironwood all the time. I don't think I could stand having Jimmy for an in-law," Qrow actually shuddered as he imagined such a hellish scenario.

"Well, guess she found a better way to give Dad a panic attack. Anyway, we'd started yelling at each other pretty quick. This was different from our other fights, though. The stakes were so high. The insults were so serious. Worst of all she… she brought up the old cabin. She's _never_ done that, before."

The old timer's mind flashed back to the event. It had been one of the most terrifying days of his life. Summer had just died, Tai had effectively shut down, and the girls were lacking in anyone sound enough to truly support them. Qrow had no issue stepping in to babysit, but there was always the matter of synching schedules. When he'd gotten to the house and the last two things he had left to live for were nowhere to be found, he truly wondered if the universe had branded his family as an abomination. Soon after, he decided to hell with the universe. He just barely tracked them down in time. A second later and he would've had to explain to Tai what had happened. Thank god it never came to that.

"It was about then I decided talking wasn't going to solve the problem. We drew on each other and she went for the dash. I was ready for her, I was! I just… When I looked at her, I didn't see that Ruby. There was no blood on her hands, no weird look in her eyes, nothing. I just saw… I saw her how she was when we were little. Wide eyes, curious and excited for all she saw. A branch in her hands shaped like your scythe, because she wanted to prove she was just like you," tears were forming in her eyes, though it was unclear if she'd noticed. "A little beowolf Band-Aid on her knee from when she fell trying to catch squirrels with Zwei. I saw my baby sister and I… I could bring myself to attack her… S-she was just so…" the tears were falling and Qrow wrapped her in a light embrace. Yang merely buried her face into his chest, something she hadn't done since she was a child. "I-I can't really remember much, after that. I think she must've snapped a little when I couldn't put up a fight. Cut my hair to get me mad enough to hit back. I was long gone, though."

"Yang," Qrow began tenuously, "you know this isn't your fault, right? I'm not blaming you for Ruby leaving and neither is your dad."

"But _I'm_ blaming me!" she exclaimed as she pulled away to look at her uncle with bloodshot eyes. "I'm the big sister! It's my job to keep her from making stupid decisions and getting hurt! I failed at that! Now, I need to fix this by bringing her back and to do that I need to get this down!"

Qrow was painfully empathetic to his niece's situation. So long ago, when Raven had first abandoned the family they had made in STRQ, he spent weeks searching for any sign of her. In that time he'd been consumed by the same fraternal guilt she was now feeling, he missed the earliest highlights of his family's newest member. All those little things that meant nothing until you realized they were more important than anything. When Ruby came to be two years later, he knew better than to waste precious time hunting ghosts. If Raven wanted to be back, she would do so of her own volition.

"Believe me, I know exactly what you're feeling, right now. But, Ruby's made up her mind. Dragging her back by force won't change that. Hell, it might just make her more certain. You're young. You've got your whole life ahead of you. Let the old men obsess over the past. I'll get Glynda to pull Ironwood off your backs and you three can start moving forward."

It was a sweet sentiment, really. But two things could always be said about the Xiao Long family. They loved with every fiber of their being and they were too stubborn to forget the past.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Despite the frosty nature of their outward appearances, the Schnee family were very passionate people. They would always prioritize the good of their loved ones over themselves when the situation was most dire, even if it resulted in a loss for the company. Or, at least, that's what Weiss desperately wanted to believe as she sat across from her elder sibling, doing her best to keep from snapping at the surprising lack of helpfulness from one of Ironwood's most trusted officers.

"Look, I understand how bad this looks, but there has to be something you can do," Weiss asserted, on the brink of exasperation with her older sister. The past few days had been taxing and stressful. She had barely survived the warzone Cinder had created, only to learn her team was now in the crosshairs of one of the most powerful men in Atlas. Worse still, she didn't have her leader to fall back on. The heiress suppressed the urge to sigh. How could Ruby hide so much and then leave her to deal with all of this? Didn't she trust her? Weren't they partners?

"I told you, already, this is completely out of my hands," Winter retorted as she pinched the bridge of her nose to ward away the stress. "This is a matter of state security. General Ironwood has made investigation his priority and he won't be talked out of it."

"But you're his direct subordinate! Practically his second in command. If anyone can persuade him to stop this, it's you."

"And who says I want to stop this?"

Weiss couldn't believe the words that had just come out of her sister's mouth, "You can't be serious. You're willing to allow him to come after my friends and I over something we had no part in?!"

"The General has every right to pursue any potential threats to the kingdoms, after what has happened. If a single leak remains unplugged, we may all drown."

"Are you even listening to yourself?! This is a witch-hunt!"

"A witch-hunt, you say? Your friends have more than affiliation with Ruby Rose counting against them. Destruction of public property, vigilantism, conspiracy. Xiao Long is an obvious powder keg who's been seen consorting with criminals in her off time. Belladonna is a White Fang. Nothing more should need to be said. And you…"

"Me?" Weiss had to keep herself from gulping as Winter's gaze narrowed.

"Did you think no one would notice the theft of sensitive information from the SDC? Information which was delivered right into the hands of an enemy of the state. You have no idea the mistakes you've made by throwing in with those degenerates, little sister."

"…Don't."

The elder Schnee quirked an eyebrow at her sibling's threatening drop in tone. "Excuse me?"

"Don't ever call them degenerates. Every one of them has proven themselves more a guardian to the kingdoms than any of your troops. Each of them, including Ruby, have managed to save my life along with countless others on multiple occasions."

"Your friend stole Atlas military property, turned a loyal asset into a traitor, and has now perverted the symbol of peace and unity between the four kingdoms into a tool of destruction," Winter's temper was rising to the point she had to stop and collect herself, before continuing, "I realize Ruby Rose meant a lot to you. Of all people, I can understand how a partner can change one's life. You need to face facts, though. This girl is not who you thought she was. She used you for her own means and the only way to survive this is if you completely disown her."

While friends knew how to build you up, family was always adept in tearing you apart. Even if they weren't aware they were doing it. That was one of the lessons Weiss had learned during her time at Beacon. She had to shut it out before she was pulled back in. She did not want to go back to the person she had been before she met her friends. Nothing was worse than that. "No," she shook her head weakly as she averted her gaze to the table. "Ruby wouldn't do this to me. There has to be something more going on."

Winter looked at her little sister with a mixture of rage and pity. Clearly, she wasn't going to make any headway. "If you can't let her go, there's nothing I can do to help you," she stood up, turning her back and striding away, "You'll have to find someone else to bail you out."

Bail. Heh. The word brought Weiss back to the depressingly simple situation her team had been in just a week ago. Yang was looking at assault charges and she was going to need a good lawyer to get her through the ridiculous circus that trial was going to be. At the time, Weiss was considering whether or not those were desperate enough measures to contact her father and beg for access to his legal division. If anyone could get Yang through that storm, it would've been one of the most powerful figures in Atlas.

Wait.

The heiress, now alone, took out her scroll and brought up the contact screen simply labelled Father. She had no idea why she was hesitating to hit the call button, though. If the possibility of Yang going to jail for assault was desperate enough for her to consider this, all three of them being witch hunted for conspiracy to commit high treason was more than appropriate a circumstance. After taking a moment to breathe deeply, she pressed the command and gingerly put the scroll to her ear.

 _Ringing…_

 _Ringing…_

 _Ringing…_

He couldn't seriously have been playing this game, could he?

 _Ringing…._

 _"Weiss. I was wondering when you would call."_

"…Father. It's… good to hear your voice. I apologize if you tried to contact me, before. The Vale CCT had been compromised by a virus."

 _"Of course. I hadn't considered the reason I have not spoken with you in months was because the CCT was offline all this time. How foolish of me."_

Weiss had to suppress a growl before responding. She knew what she would be getting back into. If this would save her friends, she would carry the weight. "How much do you know about the incident?"

 _"A terrorist leading the White Fang turned the Amity Coliseum into a weapon and tried to devastate Vale. You and your allies stepped in to stop this; one Ruby Rose, partner to my youngest daughter, having information on the plot no one else was aware of. The stadium was evacuated on the orders of this girl and she used the weapon to destroy the incoming Grimm. However, once the battling was over, this huntress, so closely tied to you, decided to sale off with the prize as opposed to returning it like a good little hero."_

"Then you know why I'm calling."

 _"Indeed. At this point, James is most likely out for blood with the loss of his favorite little science project as well as several thousand of his new drones. With the perpetrator nowhere in sight, he's begun targeting those closest to her, starting with the team who aided her in acts of vigilantism, among other crimes. In other words, you're looking for protection from the military authority in Atlas and I am the only one who can manage that. Hmph. While you've certainly done your best to show how much you don't want me in your life, I have no desire to visit you behind bars, or worse, at a grave marker. I can pull some strings with the military to keep you out of his reach."_

"Not just for myself, father. I want Yang and Blake to make it out of this, too."

 _"You what?!"_ the Schnee patriarch's furious bark made Weiss hold the phone away from her ear in preparation for the oncoming tirade, _"Not only do you demand me to strain my relationship with the military to clean up your mess, but you expect the same actions for your decadent friends?! You think a temperamental savage and a treacherous faunus are worthy of a Schnee's aid?!"_

"Speak of either of them in such a manner again and I will hang up," Weiss' voice turned ice cold, "They are innocent and deserve shelter from this attack. If you're not willing to give them the same courtesy, I'll be forced to decline any of your help and stay with them."

A few seconds of tense breathing transmitted over the line before her father managed to seize a tenuous grip on his anger. _"I cannot do this without gaining something I want."_

"And what is it you want?"

To Weiss' surprise, her father let out a tired sigh. _"It's time for you to come home, Weiss. As this last week has proven, Beacon is far from safe. Ozpin himself is nowhere to be found and I cannot keep you protected from across the sea. You have far more enemies than Ironwood, even if you may not notice it. If you return to Atlas and take a position in the company, though…"_

Of course it would come down to this. She had to admit, the terms were fairly acceptable. Her father was essentially trading what would most likely be a secure and handsomely paid job under the family company for the lives of herself and those closest to her. No one could argue the generosity in such an arrangement. It was hardly like staying at Beacon was still on the table, anyway. She wasn't sure if any of the combat academies would accept her, at this point. Unfortunately, it also meant she would be forced back into direct contact with her father, giving him a greater opportunity to control her. Could she really continue to resist that for the rest of her life?

Weiss thought back to the trials she had faced over the course of her stay at Beacon. For the first time in her life, she was given the opportunity to apply the training she had endured so long to actually make a difference in the world. For the first time, she fought alongside friends she respected and admired. Could she bear letting that go?

 _"I'm waiting for your answer, Weiss."_


	5. The Greatest Trick Part 5

Penny always had mixed feelings about sweeps happening in her mind. Sure, they were ultimately good for her in the long run, checking for viruses and maintaining her basic processes, but at the same time she could never quite get over the tingly feeling it left in parts of her brain. One such tingle just raced across her the leftmost portion of her frontal lobe equivalent, causing her to fidget slightly in her seat. This clearly had not been missed by the other girl in the room, as the girl to her right giggled softly in amusement.

"Penny, you have to stay still," Ruby scolded playfully as she glanced over at the cable currently plugged into the base of the android girl's head. "If you move too much you might jostle the data cord. That's super bad for you."

Despite the tingles, the ginger girl felt a smile creep onto her face. Though her friend did not know it, she sounded almost exactly like Penny's father. Always so doting, always so kind, always worried for those around him. It was a warming sort of realization which could only be ruined by another tingle racing through her.

"But Ruuuuubyyyyyyy," Penny whined in a manner similar to a small child at the doctor's office. "It tickles."

"No buts," came the red reaper's reply as she gave another expression identical to that of the elder Polendina. How was she so similar to a man she had never even met? "I was able to subvert Cinder's commands into voluntary directives so you weren't under her control, but I don't want this virus in you any longer than it has to be. I don't want Emerald or Mercury or…" Ruby paused to shudder a bit, "Roman Torchwick finding a way to control you. I don't want anyone controlling you, really…"

That statement raised a question, now that Penny thought about it. "Why not just program me to be completely obedient to you? It would probably be simpler for your goals if you didn't have to worry about my loyalty when planning your war against the Grimm."

A horrified look crossed Ruby's face for a few seconds before she looked away in guilt, as though even considering such a thing was a crime. "Because you're a person. Like I said when I removed General Ironwood's kill switches from your brain, you deserve to choose what you fight for. If I took that away from you, I'd be a monster."

"Choose for myself…" that was both a welcoming notion and a frightening concept. But Ruby believed she could do it. That was enough for her. Then another tingle struck. "Can I choose to end the sweep, early?"

"Nice try," the perky goth giggled as she checked the progress bar on the screen behind them. "Besides, you've only got two minutes to go. I think you're tough enough to make it that long."

"Two minutes?" Penny responded with exasperated incredulity, as though ten more seconds would be unbearable.

Ruby started to feel legitimately bad about her friend's discomfort, at this point. What could she do, though? If this did not get done, Penny would be at serious risk. She already had to wait for a few days in order to create the proper setup for this sort of thing using whatever she had available in Amity. Ruby couldn't stand the thought of her sweetest friend dancing on someone's strings ever again. "Here," she offered as she took Penny's hand in her own. "I want you to focus on this. How it feels, what you can tell just by touching it. Don't just think about how it's different from yours, but how it's the same."

The other girl did as she was instructed, blocking out all other sensations as she began to assess the appendage she had been offered. The first thing she picked up on was how cool to the touch it was. How odd. When she had been designed, the ability to generate heat from her body was heavily prioritized so as to make her appear more natural. Why were Ruby's so frigid? Could it be a method of conserving energy and allowing for prolonged operational periods without food or sleep? Or maybe a thermal camouflage for dealing with reptilian enemies who saw heat? Before the hypotheticals could build too quickly, she moved on to other observations. Ruby's hand was, by no means, soft and dainty. It was the hand of a warrior and engineer. There were callouses lining her fingers from gripping her weapon and her tools so constantly. Now that she thought about it, Penny's father had a lot of those, too. Continuing on, she could tell there was still some chapping and irritation around the palms. As Penny recalled, immediately following their departure from Vale airspace Ruby had retired to the nearest stadium restroom and proceeded to scrub her hands for two hours, eight minutes, and thirty seven seconds, well after the blood from Cinder Fall had been washed away. Why she had done this was unclear and Penny had been too occupied with performing various necessary tasks to ensure the short and long term security of their operation. Perhaps she should ask Ruby now.

As Penny opened her mouth to pose the question, an electronic chime sounded off to interrupt her. "All right, looks like you're done. That wasn't so bad, was it?" the red reaper chirped happily as she went about disconnecting the data cable safely. Ruby's demeanor was the same as it had been before, but inside she was relieved as she felt another of her more serious stressors dissipate.

"I… suppose," Penny agreed with reluctance as she stood, servos humming as she proceeded to stretch out her back to alleviate any stiffness from staying still for so long. "What else do we have to do, today?"

"Let's see," Ruby pondered. The pair exited the room and began their walk to the command center down the hallway. "The Knights need to be inspected for damage, our Dust intake needs to be catalogued so we can get a better idea for when we'll need to refuel, and we should check the news to see what the climate is in Vale."

"Of course," the ginger girl agreed readily. The command center stood before them with a lively glow radiating off the holographic map in the middle of the room. "What about our, um, guest that you had me make accommodations for?"

Ruby barely looked up from the map as she began scrolling through the massive landscapes available. "We can't worry about that until we set up a way to communicate without being traced. Just keep an eye out and make sure nothing happens."

That reminded Penny of something she had been meaning to ask for a while. "Ruby, I have a question."

"What's up?" her new partner responded absently as she kept her eyes on the maps.

"Well, I was wondering," she started nervously, twiddling her fingers when she didn't know what to do with her hands, "when we can establish a communication method, I was hoping I could make contact with my father. I know I'm disobeying him by joining you, but I still wat to let him know I'm all right."

The scrolling stopped and Ruby's expression turned dour. Eyes of conflicted silver rose to meet hopeful green as the ex-student tried hard to find the right words, "I… I don't know, Penny. The general has his hooks in deep with your dad."

The look of disappointment on the android's face was enough to make Ruby want to disappear. "But he worries about me, so much. If I don't tell him I'm okay, who knows how badly he might take my leaving?"

Ruby considered that question. After all, her dad was the same way. While she wasn't ready to speak to him, just yet, she hoped in the future she could get the chance to explain her actions and apologize for making him worry the way he undoubtedly was. At least he still had Yang, though. Mr. Polendina only had one child and Ruby had taken her away from him on some whirlwind adventure. "Can we be sure he won't betray us to Ironwood?" she asked reluctantly.

"Ruby, he always said he was my father first and a scientist second," Penny assured her partner with complete sincerity. No hiccup erupted from her lips, which told Ruby that it was the truth.

"All right then," Ruby relented. "As soon as we get a system going, we'll put in a call to your dad. I just hope he doesn't hate me…"

The disappointment was replaced by excitement and gratitude in an instant and the red reaper found herself nearly asphyxiated by the hydraulic vice that was Penny's embrace. "Ohhhhhh thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"P-Pen-ny… Can't… breathe!" Ruby squeaked from where she had been mashed against her friend's chest.

"Oh, sorry!" the android loosened her grip but did not let go. "I'm sure you two will get along wonderfully! You have so much in common and would probably have all sorts of things to talk about! Oh, this is going to be spectacular!"

"Well, glad you're confident, at least," Ruby giggled as she slowly pealed herself away from the surprisingly warm body of her partner in crime. "Anyway, let's get back to planning. There was something I wanted to show you?"

"Oh?"

The girl in the hood used her newly freed hands to swipe through a few more maps until she came to what she wanted. It as a continent, green near the bottom but a near pitch black travelling upwards. Perhaps the most interesting part of this land mass was its resemblance to a dragon, in shape.

"Is that?" Penny began as her eyes widened. Everyone with a basic knowledge of geography knew that continent, as well as the menace surrounding it.

"This," Ruby began as she put her hand around the image and mimicked crushing it in her fist, "is our primary goal. I want to take back everything the Grimm ever took from humanity."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The interrogation room of Atlas' flagship was awkwardly silent as its two occupants made no move to speak. The girl in the blue beret stayed quiet due to being occupied with setting up the recording equipment and preparing her notepad. The boy in the equally blue hair merely kept his mouth shut for fear of saying something that would get him thrown into a cell.

"This is huntress Ciel Soleil at 5:46 PM, conducting the next round of questioning regarding the actions past and future of rogue huntress Ruby Rose. Please, speak your name," the girl began as she looked straight across at her latest subject after checking her watch to confirm the time.

"Neptune Vasilias," the boy responded meekly as his own eyes averted to the opaque glass he knew was transparent from the other end. In any other situation, he might have cracked a charming smile and flirted with the very attractive young woman in front of him. Now was hardly the time or place for him to keep up the cool guy persona he'd worked hard to build. Figures of near supreme authority were watching his every move, waiting for some kind of slip up so they could nail him for affiliating with a girl he had just barely interacted with, in the past. He had been no stranger to Sun dragging him into trouble before, but this was an entirely different level of jeopardy to his future.

"Could you please tell me when and where you first met Ruby Rose, Mr. Vasilias," Ciel began professionally as she readied the pen in her hand for note taking.

"Around the start of the semester. Scarlet, Sage, and I had just arrived as part of Beacon's exchange program for the Vytal tournament."

"What about your third teammate? Sun Wukong."

"He'd already been there for a few weeks. It was the first time I'd seen him in over a month."

"A month? I was under the impression Haven's upcoming transfer students were still having normal classes at that point in time. Where was Mr. Wukong, then?"

Neptune gulped a little, knowing he needed to phrase this correctly. "Sun mentioned how he wanted to visit his family in Vacuo before the tournament started up, since they couldn't afford the trip to Vale to see him fight up close. So, he turned in enough work ahead of time to make sure he wouldn't fail his courses and hopped on the first boat to Vacuo."

"I see," white stockings rubbing together as she moved to cross her legs under the table, "You mention his family not being able to afford the trip to Vale. Yet he was able to make two trips, himself?"

"I, uh, didn't say the first boat to Vacuo was a passenger ship…" Neptune admitted quietly as he tried so very hard to sink through his seat so he could escape this mess. His partner's fondness for mischief was going to get him locked up for life.

"Ah," the Atlas agent's sound of comprehension was reinforced by that of her scribbling a quick note. "Does your friend often commit petty crimes like these?"

"I… Look. Sun might have fun breaking little rules, but he's a good person and my best friend. He would never turn against the kingdoms."

"Of course. Could you please explain how the two of you got involved in Team RWBY's incursion against the White Fang in the middle of downtown Vale, then?"

"He just felt like helping his new friends! We didn't know something like that was gonna happen! All we knew was they thought those guys were planning something bad and we figured we could help them out!" the defensive tone of his voice was born more from panic than anger. He couldn't let them connect Sun with Ruby. Not like this.

"Mr. Vasilias," Ciel sharply cut off his tirade before softening a bit. "Neptune. I am not looking to convict you of anything, at this point. I merely need you to answer these questions so we can get some idea where Ruby Rose has gone. So please, I would prefer it if you stayed calm, honest, and, for the love of all that remains holy, just look at me."

The intellectual took a slow, deep breath before turning his gaze up to meet his interrogator's. The cold, professional demeanor had been pulled away ever so slightly to reveal a calming blue sky looking at him with empathy. For the first time since being called in for questioning, Neptune felt just a little safer. "You have pretty eyes," he let slip without thinking.

Those pretty eyes merely narrowed in minor annoyance.

"Right… Questions…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The scene in the room four doors away was not quite as heartwarming. Manning the procedure personally, General Ironwood sat across from the fiery stonewall that was Yang Xiao Long. Winter Schnee, his most trusted officer, stood behind him at a rest, more than prepared to intervene on his behalf if called to do so. Not that it would make much difference. Piercing this young woman's shell was proving more and more tiresome.

"Let's go over this, again," James asserted as the young blonde glared at him with defiance. "Where is Ruby Rose? What is she planning to do with the Amity Coliseum? How is she avoiding detection? Tell me now and I'll do my best to be lenient against you and the rest of your team when the time comes for a trial."

"What part of 'I don't know' is so hard for you to understand?" Yang retorted tiredly as the circle of questioning which had lasted for over an hour began yet again. "Ruby never told me a thing about this stupid plan. She never told any of us. The last time I saw her we got in a fight when I tried to stop her from leaving."

"So you've told me, over and over," the general turned his head slightly to acknowledge his lieutenant. "Schnee, could you please tell me where Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long place in Beacon's combat rankings?"

"Of course, sir," Winter affirmed as she looked over her scroll. "In terms of human to human combat, Ruby Rose ranks number seven out of all Beacon first years. Yang Xiao Long, on the other hand, ranks number two, behind only Pyrrha Nikos."

"That's quite the gap between the two of you," Ironwood continued. "How is it that she managed to subdue you so efficiently when your win-loss ratio against her was three to one?"

"You tell me," Yang ground out, doing her damnedest to avoid answering that question. "Maybe it has something to do with how she was able to beat Cinder Fall when you couldn't even find the woman."

Before Winter could lash out in defense of her leader, the general gestured for her to stop. "And that raises still more questions. We reevaluated the footage taken during Miss Rose's brief skirmish with Cinder Fall in the CCT and determined that there was a significant skill gap between the two of them, as well. Prodigy or not, the idea that your younger sister managed to subdue and kill such a dangerous opponent on her own is clearly preposterous. Personally, I have a hypothesis to explain these lapses in reason."

"Well, I'm just dying to hear it," the boxer slung back sarcastically.

"I think everything your team has told me about what happened to Cinder Fall is a lie. After Ruby Rose took control of Penny Polendina, your combined power was more than enough to end the threat. Afterwards, the three of you were sent back to Vale on the airships in the hopes of garnering sympathy and information for the next phase in Miss Rose's scheme, whatever it may be. How does that sound?"

"You're actually insane, aren't you?" Yang had already had enough of Ironwood the last few days. This just cemented how completely done she was with him. "That's the stupidest plan I've ever heard, especially considering what I'm dealing with right now. If we were working with Ruby why not just go with her? It'd definitely beat risking capital punishment for whatever information you think we can get her."

"And yet, you _were_ working with her when the four of you started a vigilante crusade against the White Fang for reasons best described as vague. Tell me, what were you planning to accomplish by waging war against them?"

"We just wanted to do the right thing. We _did_ do the right thing. The police weren't making any progress, _you_ weren't making any progress, and we knew Torchwick was up to something bigger than just theft. So, rather than bother Professor Ozpin with things we couldn't prove, rather than beg the grown-ups for permission, we acted on our own."

"Which leads to the next question. Where is Ozpin? I find it hard to believe that the headmaster of Beacon just vanishing into thin air and your sister's theft of the stadium are purely coincidental."

"Ugh, I've already told you. I have no idea! We never even saw him during the attack! We were too busy _trying to prevent the destruction of the city!_ Maybe you forgot, but thanks to the scam Cinder's team ran on me, I was locked up for the entire first act! The surveillance uploaded to your ship should show exactly where I was the entire time, if you've been doing your jobs right!" Yang's frustration was boiling over. They both should have known there was no point to this questioning. The general would get his crucifixions and save public face. There was nothing Yang could do to defend herself anymore and she had made peace with that. So why did she have to sit through this idiotic charade that served no purpose but as a constant reminder of her failures as a sister? "Why don't you just get this over with?" she whispered bitterly as her gaze sank to the table, only to immediately regret that impulsive as she remembered all the pictures of her little sister Ironwood had tossed onto the platform.

Most of them were just Ruby as she knew her. Eyes sparkling with delight as she nibbled on a strawberry, nose scrunched up as she struggled to focus on a homework project, grin stretching across her face as she embraced her whole team under her cloak. These were all images taken from WBY's confiscated scrolls. Obviously, Atlas didn't put much thought into respecting the privacy of potential traitors. It almost made Yang sick to consider how every personal thing she had ever put on that device had been poured over and analyzed by some random team of Atlas intelligence specialists. There were a few pictures that came from none of the girl's scrolls. They came from Amity's security feed before Ruby had taken her big prize off the grid. The blur of her figure as she sped past dead and injured civilians to reach her target. The single tear down her cheek as she levelled her rifle at an unsuspecting Team JNPR. The cold and calculating look in her eyes as she walked past Penny and entered her big fight with Cinder.

"It won't end until we have what we need," Ironwood responded neutrally. He eyed his suspect for a few seconds, weighing invisible numbers all around her before taking one last image from his jacket and placing it on top of all the others, face down. "It's come to my attention that your sister isn't the first of your family to turn her back on the kingdoms. I find this pattern to be very unsettling."

No. He couldn't. He wouldn't bring that up, now. Yang took the corner of the print out timidly and flipped it face up. She couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips as she stared into the red eyes of the woman who gave her life. This was not the picture of Team STRQ Qrow always kept on his person. It was just Raven, dressed in white for what might have been the only time in her life, leaning against the rails of some peaceful rooftop. According to Qrow, Taiyang had snagged that himself on their wedding day. A fleeting moment of serenity he wouldn't realize was finite in quantity until it was too late.

"Tell me, Yang. What do you know about your mother?"

"This is _ **personal…"**_ the boxer growled as she struggled to keep her eyes from matching those of the woman in the photo.

"Do you realize everything she has been responsible for? What she was capable of since before you were even born?"

"This has _ **nothing**_ to do with it…"her hands had started gripping the armrests of her seat without realizing it, the sturdy metal denting under the constant pressure.

"I'm not so sure. I knew both your mothers back in their youth. Would you believe me if I told you Ruby had just as much in common with Raven as she did with Summer? I wonder how that could be, if there was never any contact or blood shared between the two of them."

"That's not true… _ **You're lying…"**_ the dark room became more alight as a yellow glow began radiating off her short curls.

"Maybe that's why you've been trying so hard to find her. You want to know what happened. You want to learn from her."

"Shut up, _ **shut up, SHUT UP!"**_ in an instant she rose from her seat and took the edge of the table in her hands. No amount of weight or fastening would have been enough to stop her as she tore that piece of furniture out of the floor and hurled it into the opaque window to her left. Winter had drawn her weapon in a flash, though Ironwood simply remained seated as though nothing unexpected had transpired. Burning pictures fell slowly to the ground all around them, like some sickening rain of damned recollections.

"I remember she had quite the temper, as well. You could learn from her about hiding grudges, though."

" _ **You don't know ANYTHING about my family!"**_

"Stand down right now, Xiao Long!" Winter commanded as she leveled her saber with all the deadly authority it carried. Yang made no move to do so, however.

" _ **I understand now why my uncle hates you so much. You think you're right about everything and that makes you blind. That's why you couldn't see the threat right under your nose."**_

"Which threat would that be? Cinder Fall, Raven Branwen, or Ruby Rose? True, maybe I didn't see any of them before it was too late, but I've certainly noticed how each of them are connected to you," a slight edge was doing its best to break through Ironwood's professional demeanor, though his posture stayed impeccably unchanged.

" _ **And what does that change? What does this even accomplish?!"**_ Yang was begging for the answer she already knew.

"That isn't obvious?" the general stood up slowly, as though finally addressing his subject's aggressions and intending to meet them with full control. He had no worries if the girl became violent. She was unarmed, outnumbered, and trapped. Even if none of that was the case, she still had a long way to go before she was worthy of meeting a headmaster's power. "If you won't give me information on Amity or Ozpin, all that's left for you to offer is your freedom to safeguard the kingdom's security. It's not much, but it will do well to appease the people and raise morale."

" _ **I… I…"**_ the young student was at a loss for words. There was nothing she could do to defend herself, anymore. Nothing to aim her all strength at. How long it had been since she felt so powerless. The scarlet faded from her eyes and the lively glow dissipated from her hair. "Just get it over with…"

"Yang Xiao Long, you're under arrest for crimes against the kingdoms. You will be tried before the counsel, where a punishment suitable for your crimes will be dealt out to you. Unless you have anything else to add, Schnee will escort you to-"

Any further orders were interrupted as the door behind Yang slid open and she turned to see a pair of figures stepping into the room without so much as a request to do so. The first was an exceptionally tall man, several heads above the girl who stood next to him, clad in a grey suit with violet lining the collars and buttons. His hair of dark purple was kept neat and short in an unassuming cut and a pyramidal mustache stayed still above his neutrally set lips. The tinted spectacles on his nose shifted only slightly as his eyebrow just barely quirked at the awful mess he had walked in on. Behind this man Yang had never seen was a girl she had seen plenty of. Eyes of icy blue rolled from floor to ceiling in exasperation. Clearly, Weiss was not pleased, impressed, or surprised by the product of the blonde brawler's temper.

"Mr. Papaver?" Winter greeted with confusion present in her voice. Looking down, she realized her saber was still drawn and hastily stowed it with embarrassment. "I was under the impression you were in Mistral at my father's request."

"Hello Winter," Mr. Papaver responded simply, no cracks visible in his professional demeanor as he retrieved the enlarged scroll from where it had been folded under his left arm. "Apologies for our interruption General Ironwood. I've come at the behest of Mr. Schnee to discuss a matter of importance."

Ironwood's demeanor made a shift as his role changed from interrogator to associate. "Lilat, it's been some time," he stepped past the now very quiet Yang as he made to face his guest. "If it were all the same to you, though, I'd prefer to finish this up before attending to a new piece of business."

Mr. Papaver straightened his spectacles before handing over his scroll. "I don't believe that will be necessary. The matter at hand is the one which Mr. Schnee has taken interest in."

The general's expression soured by the second as he read the request on the scroll. "You must be joking," he just barely kept from growling as he handed back the device. "Your employer expects me to cease all action against the remaining members of Team RWBY, in spite of overwhelming evidence against them?"

"Overwhelming?" Weiss exclaimed with sharp ridicule. "General, you should know full well the-"

"Weiss please," the taller man raised his hand to cut off the younger Schnee before she went off on a tirade. "There's no need for argument at this time."

"I beg to disagree!" Winter cut in as she strode to face her father's trusted advisor. "All three of them have substantial charges levelled against them. The people deserve to see justice served to the guilty, especially in light of recent events."

"Mr. Schnee is well aware of the situation," Papaver assured the pair calmly. "However it was also Mr. Schnee's wish that, should there be any resistance to this request, you be reminded his knowledge of certain secrets. Notably, those involving the origins and status of Miss Penny Polendina. Should these young women not be released, those secrets might find themselves leaked to the public via an anonymous source."

"Father is really going to stoop to blackmail over this?" the elder Schnee hardly felt surprise at the new lows her family had been stooping to. Weiss' criminal activity was bad enough, but had she truly gone back to their father and groveled for a bailout? So much for independence.

"Please Winter, you know I prefer the term leverage," the tall man replied as he strode over to the blonde everyone had nearly forgotten about. "Miss Xiao Long if you would come with me, please. There are a number of things we need to discuss."

Yang nodded blankly and made to follow her unexpected savior out the door. Before they crossed the threshold, however, Ironwood thrust his arm in front of them with enough force to betray the sound of moving hydraulics. "Do you really think this little bluff is going to be enough to make me surrender three enemies of the state? The SDC would suffer just as badly as I would should that information be leaked."

"Oh?" golden eyes glinted behind the spectacles, either out of amusement or something more. "I believe the public would be more focused on the government official developing infiltrators for use in civilian populations than the company who was forcibly coerced into supplying the Dust for the project. Don't you agree?" Every second the arm stayed up, it seemed like more willpower was drained from it. Slowly, it dropped and Ironwood reluctantly stepped aside.

Papaver and Yang left the room swiftly, though Weiss stayed behind to match glares with her big sister. "Cheer up. This happened before you announced our trials," the heiress assured coldly as she turned to follow her companions. "You won't lose that much face for letting us go."


	6. The Greatest Trick Part 6

There was nothing to be done about it, right? Nothing to say, no way to undo what had been done. Why should he even worry about that, anyway? He had been in the right, after all. He had only been doing his best to defend himself and his team during a terrible situation. Like a good leader. Like a good person. Yet he still couldn't stop replaying the scene over and over. The clashing weapons, the gunfire, Scarlet's howling in pain. It took a lot to piss Sun of. It really did. But that didn't change how, at that moment, his rage had completely blinded him.

And he used all that rage to kill his first person.

Now, Sun had no illusions about the life of a huntsman. If you intended to guard humanity with violence, there was no way to keep your hands completely clean in the process. None of that mattered, though. Not after feeling the sickening crunch vibrate through the shaft of his weapon. Not after seeing the body go limp, but striking a half dozen more times before your biggest teammate finally managed to restrain you until you calmed down again. Not after bursting out laugh because the son of a bitch was _dead_ and that little fact made you feel like the happiest man in the world on everyone's darkest day.

How was he ever supposed to look her in the eye after all of that? How could he expect her to see him as anything less than a monster? After all-

"Sun! Dude, are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" Sun responded blankly before remembering where exactly he was. On a ship headed back to Mistral. As "compensation" for their actions in defending the civilians at Amity, the visiting students had been granted their return trips free of charge as a small token of Atlas' good will. Not the shining reward a hero received in a fairytale, but the faunas couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to just leave Vale in the dust. "Sorry Neptune, I zoned a little. What were you saying, man?"

"Jeez," his partner sighed in vexation. "It's not like you to lose track of things like that. I asked you if you were, ya know… really ready to leave?" there was more than a hint of suggestion in his tone. Obviously Neptune had been pondering a similar topic.

Sun ran a hand through his hair as he faced left and noticed Sage and Scarlet in the neighboring seats. Both were quiet, with Scarlet in particular glancing out the window forlornly. His head was wrapped in bandages, hiding the now empty socket that once held his right eye. It was awful, but it could have been so much worse if the fight had continued for much longer. Over time he would be able to make peace with his temper and accept what he had done.

But there was no way he could face Blake.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Look, I've been really patient. Ya know, for me. Mostly because both of you scare me in vastly different ways. It's not that I'm not grateful you apparently saved me from life in an Atlas military prison, but would one of you _please_ tell me what just happened?"

"…I really scare you?"

Yang's palm met her face at such a harsh velocity she was amazed her semblance hadn't activated from it. "That's really not my point, Weiss…"

"In exchange for the freedom of yourself and Miss Belladonna, Miss Schnee made an arrangement with her father," Papaver explained as the trio strolled through the eerily vacant hallways of Beacon Academy. Classes were cancelled until further notice and everyone who hadn't left to mourn a tragedy or rejoice in not losing any loved ones were elsewhere in Vale, doing whatever they could to push on in the aftermath. "She would like to wait until we meet with Miss Belladonna before she goes into detail about it."

"The only reason we didn't already have Blake with us was because we knew General Ironwood was going after you first and we didn't have time to find her. We needed to break up that interrogation before things went too far," Weiss picked up where the older man had left off. "Considering you'd destroyed the room by the time we entered, I'd say we just barely got there in time."

"I…" the blonde's outburst wore out as quickly as it started. "Yeah, you're right. Ironwood was about to arrest me right before you walked in. Heh, saved by the bell, right?"

"Yang," the heiress began, concern now lining her voice, "I know your temper can get volatile, sometimes, but seeing that was like seeing you attack Mercury in the tournament. What could have possibly happened to make you lash out like that?"

Yang didn't respond right away, instead choosing to withdraw her newly reacquired scroll from her pocket. Upon activation, she was greeted by an old picture she had taken to staring at when she was feeling down. A beautiful woman with red hair and a white cloak, a bright smile gracing her pink lips and a playful glint in her silver eyes. In one arm, a little blonde girl, four years old, wearing an adult men's tee shirt (her dad's before she claimed it for nightwear) which went down past her feet like a nightgown. Her expression was more energetic than one would expect from a child who had been fast asleep only a few minutes prior. In the other arm, a toddler in a strawberry print onesie. Though she had been woken up by her big sister shortly before, the warmth of her mother's arms had lulled her back to sleep before the picture had been taken by her daddy. Yang barely remembered any of this happening, herself. It was all just stories from Dad and Uncle Qrow. "He started talking about my mom."

"You mean Summer Rose?" Weiss questioned. Clearly, Ruby had taken the time to explain the state of their family to her partner in much the same way Yang had. Though, apparently she neglected to mention how they were really half-sisters. Was that meant to be seen as a respect to Yang's privacy, or just another deception her little sister had been cooking up on the side? Why was that becoming such a common thought process?

"No, my… real mom," using the word real felt wrong. Like Yang was disowning all the love and grief associated with the woman who had stayed to raise her. But a different word wasn't coming to her, so she merely said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Real mom?"

"The last member of the now disbanded Team STRQ. Raven Branwen," Mr. Papaver added simply, as though it was common knowledge.

The blonde boxer was perplexed as to how this total stranger was aware of what had been a closely guarded secret during her childhood. "How do you know any of that?"

"The Huntsmen play a major part in the status of Remnant's economy through their great effect on morale, in addition to their individual power and lack of distinct affiliation making for potential assets or threats. The Schnee Dust Corporation has been examining notable hunters since well before my employment. In particular, STRQ was one of the most promising teams to ever graduate Beacon Academy, until Ms. Branwen's disappearance seventeen years ago. Second only in that generation to Headmaster Ozpin's own team. Unfortunately, both teams tragically fractured before their true potential could be realized."

"Well, nice to know my family's dysfunction was such valuable information," Yang shot back bitterly. "Just forget it. The general was completely nuts with what he was talking about."

Any further conversation quickly came to a halt as the wandering party crossed the threshold into Beacon's near deserted library. As of the current moment, the only other occupant was a single girl in a black bow, seated at one of the center tables.

"Miss Belladonna," Papaver greeted politely as the girls he had been traveling with seated themselves on Blake's adjacent sides. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is-"

"Lilat Papaver," the ex-freedom fighter cut in sharply as she closed the book she had been glancing through with an audible snap. "Personal advisor to President Schnee in all matters business. Exceptional skillsets include situational assessment, personnel management, negotiation, and public relations. Don't worry, I know all about you and all you've done for your company."

"Forthright and shrewd, just as Weiss described you," the tall man didn't miss a beat as he took the last seat, directly opposing the fierce young faunas. "I surmised as much from your performance in the tournament. Though, I had noticed how naturally you took to operating through proxies from the shadows, as well."

"Spare me the wordplay. Neither of us need to hide what we are, right now," Blake shot back frigidly, as though even attempting to put on any façade of civility around this man would be far too strenuous for her to manage.

"To business it is, then," Mr. Papaver never once lapsed in his controlled expression as he turned to Weiss with the most formal of posturing. "Miss Schnee, would you care to explain the situation at this time?"

"Of course," the heiress responded with equal formality, before taking a deep breath and addressing her friends. "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, I was able to arrange a deal with my father to ensure our security from the Atlas Military and anyone else who wants us in prison."

"What kind of deal are we talking about?" Blake hadn't missed a beat, even in spite of hearing the promise that her freedom was going to remain intact.

"That's… the bad news," Weiss sighed, knowing in advance the extreme reaction it would incite in her teammates. "In exchange for our freedom, I'll be returning to Atlas and taking a job at the Schnee Dust Corporation."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Are you stupid or something?"

You could always count on a Xiao Long to break an awkward silence into tiny pieces.

"Wow, Yang. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Well, it needed to be said! I thought going to Beacon was all about getting away from your family and striking out on your own. Now, you're going back to Atlas to _work_ for him? Toxic environment, much?"

"I think life in prison is a bit more toxic than that. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Like this situation is any less of a prison for you?" Blake chose to chime in this time.

"Say what you want about gilded cages, Blake. At least I'll have a better chance at making the world better than I would rotting inside some cell. So will you."

"In fact," Papaver began casually, "I'm quite sure Miss Schnee could persuade her father to grant the both of you employment appropriate to your exceptional skillsets. Public opinion will make your professional lives difficult for a number of years. It's best to take every advantage presented to you in situations such as these."

The only member of the trio who even considered the idea was Weiss. After all, she had realized saving Blake and Yang from Ironwood was only the end of one problem. They had nowhere to go, their paths to becoming official huntresses had been cut short. Law enforcement and military were unlikely to hire them, thanks to their ties to Ruby. Where did that leave a pair of outcasts who live and died by the sword? "I wouldn't be opposed to bringing it-"

"No," and there was Blake to swat the idea out of the air like some poor canary.

"Blake, he's not wrong. This could be a real opportunity for-"

"Weiss, you're my friend," black cat assured with absolute sincerity. "You've shown me that there's still hope for humans and faunas to find peace together. But, until the day you manage to take control of that company and right all its wrongs, I _refuse_ to even consider allying myself with the organization that has exploited my people for so long. I'm no White Fang. I haven't been one for a long time. Still, that doesn't change what the SDC has done."

"I… suppose I should've expected as much. What about you, Yang?"

The blonde merely shook her head. "I don't see corporate work agreeing with me all that well. Don't know what I'll do… Maybe just wander around for a bit."

"You're sure?" Weiss felt like she was begging for one of them to just swallow their pride and let her help them. She should not have been surprised by either response, though. If there was something all of Team RWBY had in common, it was agency. Accepting handouts was out of the question.

"Unfortunate," Papaver mused, his glasses gleaning sinisterly as his head tipped forward. "The two of you would have made valuable assets alongside Miss Schnee. Perhaps another time…" the sentence hung in the air for a second or two, before the older man's demeanor made a nonsensically abrupt shift towards much sunnier territory. "But, I suppose we should move on to other matters. If there's anything at all the three of you need to take care of as a group, you'll need to do it today. Weiss and I will be departing for Atlas in the morning."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Well, well, well. Enjoying the spoils you snatched from me, I see. I'm at least glad they're being put to good use, though I really should expect as much from you. In all of my scheming, I never thought someone like you to enter the scene and completely wreck the board. I always assumed the only real threat in my path was Ozpin and his little secret circle. But you were the spanner in the works, weren't you? I really should have killed you the moment I saw you. Your name should have been a dead giveaway that you were more connected to this game than some random Samaritan._

 _Hm._

 _I suppose that just goes to show how effective your little façade is. Even when you interfered with my plans every step of the way, I never saw past those childish mannerisms. Even when we locked gazes and you discerned my identity in seconds, I couldn't see past those idealistic silver eyes. You perfected your mask at such a young age. It's no wonder Ozpin let you in without a second thought. It's really too bad I had to die for your plan to live. Watching you destroy the world with all your hypocrisy… well… what could be more beautiful than that?_

"No. That's not going to happen. I won't let it happen…"

 _You sound so sure of yourself. You've already lost most of the people you were depending on to keep you on the right path. You're all alone out here except for one naïve little robot who hangs on your every word. Do you really think she alone can keep you from turning your back on humanity?_

"Penny can do it… She can…"

 _And if she does call you on your actions, what's to say you won't just reprogram her into obeying your every whim?_

" _No… I would never…"_

 _Never what? That's not how your moral compass works and you know it. You'll do anything, so long as it can be justified in the name of the greater good._

" _It's not true… It's not…"_

 _Isn't it? You swore you would never treat your sister like an enemy, once upon a time. Yet you attacked her when she couldn't even bring herself to fight back. All because she didn't agree with your big plans for the future. Face it. In no time at all you'll be_ _ **just like me.**_

"No!" Ruby awoke with a start, wrestling against what she had thought were flames consuming her body, but in reality were the folds of her cloak. Her struggling halted when she realized this and she let out a shaky sigh. Another nightmare. That made five in a week.

Slowly, the red reaper sat up on the couch she had been using as a bed and absently glancing over the sky box she resided in. She hoped getting a real bed and a change of clothes would be enough to ward off the golden eyes and seductive voice that had been haunting her ever since her first night in Amity, but somehow she doubted it would be as simple as getting on a new sleep mask. Just another price she hadn't considered when she planned everything out.

Just as Ruby was about to fall asleep again, a ray of sunlight assaulted her eyes and she let out an exasperated groan. The infernal light bringer just peeked over the horizon, shining through the windows with an intensity that would make rest impossible. So much for slipping back into a REM cycle. With that reprieve out of the question, she decided she might as well take a walk.

While certainly better off than it was immediately following the attack, Amity had more than a few things in dire need of fixing up for the long run. Laser burns and bullet holes littered the hallway Ruby currently strolled through, along with the occasional bloodstain that had completely dried over time. The red reaper tried very hard not to ponder whose blood it was. That thinking would only make things worse for her, at the moment.

An Atlesian Knight greeted her on the way to her destination, its programming deciding on a tight salute. Appropriate, Ruby supposed. After all, she was their new commanding officer, after all. As of the moment, only a few dozen or so of the drones had been reactivated to perform guard duty. The others remained on standby in the lower areas until it would inevitably be time for combat deployment. If there was a single complaint Ruby had for the knights, it was how white really wasn't her color. Maybe she could make a deal for some painting equipment later on. That would certainly help her keep busy.

After a few minutes of walking, the girl in red paused just outside the arena's entrance. She'd done her best to avoid this place since she'd taken over the stadium. The 10'x10' block of ice currently being sustained by Amity's biome technology was the reason why. She needed to face this now, though. Otherwise, sleep would never come to her. The first step was the slowest. Every step after that become progressively faster until she was finally upon her goal.

"Long time no see," Ruby started up as she gazed into the icy prison that housed her most peculiar guest. "Sorry I haven't come out to check up on you, but things have been pretty busy since we last met. Every day we're getting closer to being fully operational. When we finally have everything ready? Things are finally going to start changing for humanity. Of course, that's easier said than done.

"Anyways, you're probably wondering why I'm still keeping you. Well, you've always been fascinating to me since I first saw you. So powerful, so otherworldly, so outside of human thinking. Really, I never even thought you were human. Whatever you are, though, I'll bet your body holds all sorts of interesting secrets about the world outside the kingdoms."

Her eyes flashed in pseudo delight as she placed her hand against the frozen side. Cold as ice, just as it was supposed to be. Cold enough to preserve a corpse until such a time as it would be dissected.

"How does it feel knowing the last thing you'll ever do is help humanity expand its knowledge, Cinder? I bet the irony is almost painful."


	7. Memoir Entry 1

**A/N:** Well… That was a hell of a season finale, wasn't it? Laughs have been had and tears have been shed. All the pre-hiatus whiskey has definitely gone to my head. I'm extremely proud of CRWBY for the spectacular work they've done throughout the volume. I'm sure Monty would approve of their efforts to continue this incredible piece of fiction that has touched all of us so dearly.

Now begins the waiting period, where the fans must find ways to entertain themselves until it's time to reconvene for Volume 4. It's my great hope that this story can be part of your hiatus related entertainment and I will do my best to keep updating so long as at least a few of you take enjoyment in what I have to write about. Now that I've finished The Greatest Trick, I'll likely go back in the coming months to give it all a good edit treatment to clean up a few of the things that weren't working and fix the occasional weird spelling error or the like. Part 6 will especially get a redux as I just wasn't feeling the flow as well as I did with the others while I was finishing it up. Might need to add another scene or two to better end the arc.

This is a special chapter which essentially acts the same way a World of Remnant episode does. It takes a little break from the main plot and delves into the past, whilst providing a breaking point in between the story's arcs. In addition, I've also got responses to various reviews of The Greatest Trick Parts 1-6, since I feel it's important to acknowledge what people have to say about a story every once in a while. Hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

 _Memoir Entry #1,_

 _Today marks the anniversary of my pulling off the ultimate scheme. The day Amity Coliseum and three thousand Atlesian Knights came under my control, all for the sole purpose of ridding the world of its monsters. All it took was finding a way into Beacon Academy for a semester and playing just the right cards during the Vytal Tournament. It still amazes me to this day how I actually got away with it._

 _Anyway, the reason I'm writing this is because Penny suggested I start recording my personal thoughts for future generations to study. Apparently, it was something her old leader, James Ironwood, made a habit of doing when he had time to spare. I thought it was a little egocentric, at the time, but Penny reminded me that I_ _ **was**_ _actively making history, so I might as well give the textbooks something to transcribe. She's sweet like that, always wanting to help in whatever way she can._

 _I'm getting off topic, though. I know what everyone wants to ask, even so long after it happened._

" _How did you do it?"_

" _Why did you do it?"_

" _Was it worth everything you had to sacrifice?"_

 _To answer the last one first, give me another few years to see if I've wiped the Grimm off the face of the planet. Once that happens, it'll all have been worth it. As for the why and how, I have to go back years before the Vytal Tournament. Back before I was a skilled warrior and instead was merely a broken little girl, crying for my mommy. You see, everyone has a moment in time when they meet their rawest form of determination. For me, it was when Summer Rose was declared KIA by the Huntsmen Association. The Grimm had taken something from me I could never replace. The hurt never really stopped. It was always there, slowly forging itself into a hate I could fight the monsters with. Not that I could use it so early. I was still a child; naïve in how the world worked and frail in the ways of physical combat. I wouldn't get my taste of real power until my first year at Signal Academy, when I came under the wing of my Uncle Qrow._

 _I'm not really exaggerating when I say I never would have gotten where I am without my uncle. Being the best scythe user in the world meant he was the best possible choice to learn to fight under. Where I had trouble with learning the raw basics from other teachers, Uncle Qrow understood me so well that I was picking up techniques meant to be taught to graduating students. Lots of people liked to call me a prodigy when it came to killing monsters, but I'm still not so sure it wasn't my smelly old mentor who was the prodigy at teaching. Still, combat wasn't all I learned from him, even if he assumed it was._

 _As I kept training with Uncle Qrow, I noticed when he might be called away for weeks at a time for these special missions he couldn't talk about. Secrets were always super interesting to me. After all, something worth hiding was usually something worth knowing. So, I started looking into what he was doing, where he was going. I'd start with simple questions, really small hints that I could build on later. As I got better at hiding my curiosity, I got better at finding out more. By the end of my Freshman year, I'd connected enough dots to know my uncle was gathering information for one of the most influential men in Vale. Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy._

 _I'd already known a lot about him. He was practically an idol when it came to being a hunter. Learning he and Uncle Qrow were working together behind the scenes was like one of my craziest dreams come true. They were fighting someone or something (it was honestly never clear from the times I managed to bug them) that threatened not just Vale, but all four kingdoms. As my Sophomore year went by, my uncle's missions became more frequent, and when he was around I could tell he had some kind of new weight on him. The things he was investigating didn't seem like they were connected, at first. Mysterious deaths of a pair of prominent hunters, an Atlesian programmer being abducted and never seen again, and the more frequent attacks on Schnee Dust Corporation cargo were among the most discussed topics. It took me a few months to put everything together before I realized it was all for a single goal. Atlas was finishing testing on their new line of combat drones, set to deploy later in the year. Near the same time, rumor had it Vale would be hosting the Vytal Festival._

 _Now, I've been a weapons nut for a really long time, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for me to come up with some really outlandish ideas involving hypothetical access to tons of equipment I would never actually get ahold of. One such idea was loading up Amity Coliseum with enough Dust to overclock its artificial biome systems. Doing so would mean having a gigantic movable sky fortress that could generate just about any natural disaster you could think of, from hurricanes to volcanic eruptions. The sheer destructive power would be enough to bring an entire kingdom to its knees. To be honest, just the thought of a weapon that big made_ _ **me**_ _pretty weak in the knees._

…

 _That probably didn't sound right._

 _Anyway, the scheme was looking me dead in the face. The programmer would be coerced into coding an advanced virus designed to override the stadium's security systems as well as take control of the Atlesian Knights. The murder of the huntsmen was to build tension and unease among the kingdoms, all the better for General Ironwood to exercise his military influence by bringing along a whole fleet to the festival. And, of course, the Dust would be supplied via hijacking as many shipments of SDC product as possible. It was a brilliant gambit, one that could pose a serious threat to Vale. When I realized what was at stake, my first thought was to tell Ozpin everything I'd found out. Before I could, though, something stopped me. It was this little voice, telling me to let it play out. After all, stopping this early would only preserve the status quo. It seemed that was all hunters could do, I thought. I'd been okay with that before, since it would be my best chance to make a happy ending for someone. But now? With this amazing power within my gaze? Power enough to change the world? I knew I'd regret not seeing this to the end._

 _I started investigating Dust robberies in the kingdom, with one name in particular popping up. Roman Torchwick. He was some kind of career criminal, a great fighter and a better thief, and he was currently in the city judging by the pattern I'd traced. To my luck, Dad, Yang, and I were going to be traveling to the mainland from Patch to celebrate Yang's acceptance into Beacon. Something I'd realized early on was that, if I wanted to keep following this story, I'd need to get into the Vytal tournament personally. That meant I'd need to accomplish the impossible and get into Beacon two years early. To figure out how, I had to look back on everything I knew about Ozpin. To get in I would have to exploit three things: his compassion for virtue, his respect for initiative, and his desperation to recruit as many potential allies as he could. It just so happened, I had the opportunity to hit all three when I learned from a man named Junior that Roman Torchwick was planning on hiring some of his men for a job._

 _The first step was to learn when and where Torchwick was planning to strike. I was intending to plant a bug on one of the hired thugs, but that plan exploded with Yang the second she destroyed Junior's club. Torchwick vanished the moment the fighting started and all I could do was stand outside while I tried not to feel so jealous of Yang for having all the fun. I caught a lucky break when Junior came flying out the window and landed right at my feet, managing to steal his scroll when Yang wasn't looking and use the information to track down Torchwick and figure out where he would strike next._

 _The first real phase of my plan was about to begin and the first step was to find a nice corner to loiter in at From Dust 'til Dawn._

* * *

And now for the review responses.

 **Dragoon109:** I urge you to try not to mistake a character's dislike of another character as the author's dislike for that character. I greatly enjoy Ironwood's characterization in canon and agree that he does have some amount of standing in this mess. I chose to have him doing this because I feel these are the actions he would take. Besides, I don't think he's evil. Evil really doesn't exist in my writing style as I prefer to use concepts like opposing forces, instead.

The thing is, I look at Ironwood and I see a man so devoted to doing what he feels is necessary to protect the people that he toes the line of extremism. The mere presence of Penny is enough to prove he is not above morally grey actions, seeing as (despite very clearly being a sentient being) she didn't choose to follow him and is controlled and restrained through various handlers like Ciel and Atlas Security. As a Lelouch fan, I'm all for characters doing extreme things for what they believe is the greater good, but if they're not willing to accept the consequences of these actions they lose a good deal of my respect. And trust me, denying Penny's right as a sentient creature to choose her own allegiances is very immoral to a lot of people, regardless of her being loved or not.

As for Penny's ability to be hacked, it's important to remember that even an organic brain can be deceived and manipulated in Remnant, aura or no aura (see Emerald's illusions). It's merely a question of how you manipulate the programming, be it from a download or life experiences. The human brain already has viruses that screw with how it works. They're called mental disorders. I happen to have one of those called OCD. Cults are also very effective at reprogramming the human mind to make their followers more placid.

 **Shadow Walker of Fire:** I'm very glad I'm keeping you intrigued and especially that I'm keeping you guessing. This fic is going to be all about different people doing what they believe is right at the expense of coming into conflict with others. Some push this to the extreme, while others try to keep balance in their ideals. The morality of a character is entirely up to the opinion of the reader, seeing as that's exactly how morality works as a concept. I get a lot of inspiration from an anime called Code Geass, if you've heard of it. If you haven't seen it, I'd definitely give it my recommendation.

Anyways, thank you for taking interest in my story and I hope you continue enjoying it.

 **Guest:** While I'm sure it looked like Ruby was out of character during her scenes with Yang, early on, I assure you the reason was because of the sheer amount of stress overwhelming her system during a very delicate situation. In future scenes where she is in more controlled situations, she will be much more like her old self. Especially when she's around Penny. Expect an amount of Nuts and Dolts fluff.

I am sorry you had such a negative opinion of the story early on, but I do hope it may hook you in the future.

 **Justicar7400:** The pride I feel for popping your review cherry is like no other. I'm so very glad you enjoyed my writing enough to comment on it.

 **fujin of shadows:** That's some great wordplay going on, but everybody knows Ruby's greatest trick was making Yang's hair disappear.

 **ShotgunWilly:** I very much appreciate your criticism in regards to Ren's deafness, though my own research into Noise-Induced Hearing Loss has said that permanent and immediate loss of hearing is entirely possible. As for aura healing it? Well, I see plenty of trained hunters with some severe scars. I'm not so sure aura does so well against lasting damage. On regards to making Ren deaf only for the sake of drama, I assure you that's not the case. Ren is meant to give a different example of how a person might live after a life changing disability, just like Pyrrha will. That, and the idea of JNPR all learning sign language together (with Nora of course being so fast to the point of having a motor mouth and motor hands to match) brings a smile to my face.

 **SeerKing:** Funny thing about that. After the finale of Volume 3, I think AAP is actually significantly lighter than canon. I've been processing that for some time, now.

 **Unstoppable Cyborg:** Penny is safe… for now. You have my promise that there will at least be Nuts and Dolts fluff while they're together in Amity.

 **Hirshja:** Winter's got what I would call "daddy issues". Thanks to those issues, she took to Ironwood as a sort of father figure during her service to the Atlesian military and he has a lot of her trust. Knowing her little sister has teamed up with a former White Fang terrorist (and Blake _has_ committed acts of terrorism to some extent before finally leaving the organization) and being so utterly hoodwinked (heh, pun) by Ruby's scheming has made her lose faith in Weiss' judgment.

 **Undying Soul98:** I'm glad you like the concept. Just so you know this is an AU, which means it really won't be running parallel with canon (or, at least, it _wouldn't_ have been until canon started turning into a dark AU itself). After the coming timeskip, things should start diverging more from the canon storyline

 **Everyone Else:** Thank you so much for reviewing. Every positive word or constructive criticism means a great deal to me and I hope all of you will continue enjoying this little AU as it continues. The crazy part is that these first six were only the prologue. What comes next is getting into the body of the story.


	8. Where Are They Now? Part 1

A/N: Heh, hey guys. Sorry it's been a while since last update. School related excuses and whatnot. Anyways, we're finally post-timeskip, so here's where we start getting into some of my favorite stuff. Hope you enjoy!

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Of the four kingdoms, most would consider Mistral to be the most traditionally mystical. There were stories of all the sacred energies charging the air, empowering and rejuvenating those who understood them. Harnessing the very forces of nature and the spirit world to achieve ancient power. Of course, to the woman with the brown duster and a trio of golden tanks on her back, the only ancient power she could sense was that of the terrible smell emanating from the murky waters. Swamps had never been her thing; too many flammable gasses and some of the meanest variants of Grimm ever seen. Of course, it would take a little more than a few undertows and hazardous conditions to keep her from her target. She had a job to do, this moonlit evening.

Trudging alongside the muddy bayou, she mulled over the bounty she had picked up the next town over. A family of sorts, none of them were what one would call the law abiding citizen type. As the story went, a few of the young men had too much to drink one night in town and assaulted some other bar patrons. A warrant for their arrest had been put out and an officer had been dispatched to collect the boys peacefully. The same officer had returned to the local police station in a half dozen buckets. After that, law enforcement decided this task was better suited for a bounty hunter. That's where she came it.

Just as she considered the possibility she was lost, the bounty hunter caught a glimpse of warm lighting in the distance. Pressing forward, she smirked at the sight of a respectably sized shack. She could hear the ruckus going on from where she was, a good couple hundred feet away. Clearly, this was the sort of family that preferred to party into the night and sleep off those hot summer days. Not that they could be blamed. This part of Mistral got humid to the point where it was taxing to complete even the most basic tasks.

As the woman drew closer, she spotted a lone figure in a rocking chair out on the porch. It was an old man with tan, wrinkled skin and greying hair which had receded a bit past his scalp. He wore a well-worn set of blue overalls with a sleeveless shirt underneath, an appropriate choice for the heat. The elder man had spotted her just as quickly and stood from his seat to properly greet her.

"Evenin'," he welcomed when the young woman crossed into the range for conversation.

"Evening," she responded casually as she came to a stop just below the porch railing which the man was now leaning against. "The moon is pretty nice tonight, isn't it?"

"That it is," the old man confirmed with a thick accent as he glanced upwards to the aforementioned heavenly glory before turning back to his visitor. "Not often a girl so pretty shows up around here. Especially in the middle of the night. Not that I mind a pretty young thing meetin' me at my doorstep, but do you have some kinda business darlin'? That contraption on your back is especially peculiar."

Running a hand through her mercifully short and dry blonde hair, the woman met his eyes with a friendly smile. "The name's Sunny," she began as she took a flask from her coat pocket, "I travel around selling spirits. On my back is my still. I was passing through and thought you or your family might be interested in purchasing." She had used that story on a different batch of lowlifes in every kingdom. It worked every time. If there was one thing she'd learned in her years of catching bounties, it was how nobody turned down good booze if they could get it.

"Pleased to meet you, Sunny. You may call me Gris. You wouldn't happen to have a sample for an old man, would you?"

"Right here," Sunny nodded as she handed him her personal flask.

Gris looked over the container under the light of the moon. It was a pretty thing. The main body was brown leather, though wrapping around it was a golden dragon whose jaws closed firmly around the spout. Squeezing the latch so the gilded maw snapped open, the old man took a sniff and nearly recoiled at the powerful force emanating from the flask. That was a good sign when it came to shine. Taking a quick swig, he was exposed to a powerful sensation best described as a lightning bolt racing down to the base of his stomach. Upon exhaling, he noted the electricity racing through the air.

"My own recipe," Sunny stated proudly. "I mix in a little Spark Dust to give it some kick."

It took a lot of skill and experience to safely impregnate consumables with Dust. Gris couldn't even remember the last time he had moonshine this good (which was admittedly kind of the point). He handed back the flask and gestured for her to follow. "I reckon there might be one or two of the family who'd like this. Come on inside."

The interior of the shack was packed. Inside was a group eight strong, all in varying degrees of light clothing. Only certain parts of the indoor lighting were turned on, allowing for a few shadowy areas around the walls. Near the center sat a balanced trio playing an accordion, fiddle, and triangle. The song was very upbeat with a pair of dancers (a man and a woman) going at it, while the others sat and conversed or clapped along to the beat. The woman could count three of her bounties in the room. The fiddle player, the portly and bald Argente. One of the dancers, the lanky dark haired Noir. One of the sitters, the average and mossy haired Vert. That only left number four unknown, the absurdly tall a fiery Rouge. She would have to buy time and see if he showed up.

"Please, please. Make yourself comfortable and have a seat," Gris welcomed as an empty chair was presented to her. In response to their patriarch's entrance, all activity had ceased. "Everyone, this is Sunny. She sells spirits on the move. Pretty good stuff, if I do say so myself. She thought we might want to buy from her."

Sunny received a mix of hello's, how do you do's, and pleasure to meet you's from throughout the room. All sounded jovial and inviting, not what you'd expect from accessories to murder. The blonde was almost jealous of the family's ability to appear so genuinely friendly and carefree while keeping their dark sides all to themselves. It had taken her years to perfect that façade and these people were all just naturals. "Pleasure to meet you all," she responded with a polite smile as she sat forward on the chair to make room for her tanks. "I must say, I wasn't really expecting to find anyone out here, tonight. I was making my way to another village and just stumbled onto you guys. Didn't realize people could actually live out here."

"Not many can," Argente replied in a thinner accent than his father's as he took up his fiddle once more to play a much softer and slower tune. "But we've been out here for years doin' fine for ourselves."

"You're not worried about the Grimm wandering around? Seems like they'd be quite the risk."

"Naw, they're no trouble," Vert spoke up this time. "We've got a circle o' Dust surroundin' the property. They don't like crossin' it, so all we gotta do is keep from gettin' scared so they don't want to go out of their way," suddenly a mischievous grin broke out on his face. "You're not feelin' scared, are ya Miss Sunny?"

"Vert! Don't be so mean!" the girl he had his arm around chastised playfully. "Girl's been walking through the swamp all night. She doesn't need any of your grief."

"Aw, come on. I'm just playin' around. Sunny knows I don't mean anythin' by it, right?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Sunny assured as she gazed down at the rough pair of hands clasped on her lap. "Grimm don't scare me much, anymore. You live long enough and you start to realize there are a lot worse things in this world than monsters hiding in the dark."

"Ain't that the truth?" Gris reentered the conversation with a platter full of mismatched cups and glasses. "Now, while this conversation is fascinatin' and all, I was hoping we might bust out the shine and enjoy ourselves a bit. You'll drink with us, right?"

"Of course," the blonde's expression reverted to her brighter demeanor once again as she accepted the glass offered to her. "After all, business goes a lot smoother when you add the right amount of lubrication."

That got a hearty chuckle out of most of the room while the glasses were being handed out. Once Gris was down to only a cup in each hand, he turned his head to shout into another room, "Rouge, get on in here! We're enjoying a guest!"

Some grumbling could be heard through the walls, but eventually the door creaked open to reveal the girl's final target, who proceeded to shuffle over and accept his glass. This was perfect. All her ducks were in a row and ready to be cooked. All she had to do was wait for the right opening and this would go off without a hitch.

"Might I propose a toast, then?" Sunny raised her glass and paused before she had everyone's attention. "To new friends and all the exciting ways life can surprised you."

There was a collective cheer as drinks were raised to lips.

The blonde downed her glass in a single gulp. It wasn't as good as her own product, but she had definitely drank worse. With most of the party now distracted by individual conversations or pouring out more booze, now was the perfect time to strike. She took a deep breath and gathered up all her strength before moving to stand up, only to feel her legs go weak as she stumbled back onto her seat.

"Of course, out here you can't trust nobody right away. Ain't that right, Yang Xiao Long?"

As soon as her true name was spoken, Yang could feel her mind fading steadily. The glass she had been drinking from left her hands and shattered on the ground as the huntress slumped in her chair. "What did you… do to me?" she demanded as her aura struggled to compensate for the introduction of the sedative she had just ingested. The glass must have been coated before it was handed to her.

"Did you honestly believe we never saw your face before, darlin'?" Gris asked rhetorically as he slowly began to polish the knife he had just brandished. "The news liked to show it quite a bit, five years ago. Back when your little sister pulled that stunt at the Vytal Festival. Boy, do I remember how crazy things got that day… Which gets me to thinkin'. You're here for our bounty, but there's a much bigger one on your sister. All we have to do is send her a picture of you lookin' scared and hurt, then she shows up here to save you. We become rich enough to retire to Atlas."

Yang let out a harsh chuckle as she forced herself to stay conscious. Did these people really think they stood a chance against the world's biggest super weapon? "Like she'd actually come for me. What makes you think she even cares about me, anymore?"

"The same reason I chopped up that cop to protect my boys," the old man leaned in close, pressing his blade alongside her cheek as the golden aura flickered in weak defense, "You're her kin. People do anythin' for their kin."

"All right," Yang halfheartedly conceded. "How about a different question. What makes you think she's going to need to rescue me?"

The downfall of any plan can usual be attributed to an excess of a certain sin. In this case, the pride the family had in their scheme led to them not finding a way to remove the tanks from Yang's back before they started drugging her. See, it was less of a still and more a fire breathing beast-machine with Spark Dust in the smallest tank. In the time it took Gris to gloat about his plan, the blonde had mustered up enough aura to activate said tank and send a few thousand volts of electricity coursing through her body.

It hurt like hell. It always did. But pain just made Yang stronger.

In this case, that strength took the form of her accelerated metabolism doing away with the sedative making its way through her system. That Gris' knife was currently acting as a conductor to channel all that blinding electric pain through the old man's arm was only the icing on the cake. While the old timer lay twitching on the ground Yang stood tall; enveloped in a golden inferno with the occasional arc of electricity dancing across her figure. The flames scorched everything they touched. The wooden floors, the nearby furniture, even the tails of Yang's own duster were littered with black spots and tattered holes from the merciless heat.

The sound of clanging metal drowned out the indignant shouts of the family as armor crawled down the blonde's previously bare arms until she was clad in gold from shoulder to fist. Each arm had a pair of nozzles: one on the tip of the elbow and another just above the thumb on the gauntlet. The metal gave off an unearthly shine beneath the light of her power, like she was some offended deity looking to dish out some divine retribution.

Yang had enough experience dealing with people to know that there were usually only two kinds of responses her appearance invoked. Fight or flight. In this case, it was cut almost 50-50 between the two, with only the four boys she had come to bag readying whatever they could pick up for a fight. It was painfully obvious how out of their league these thugs were.

Vert was first, charging forward with a walking stick Yang vaguely remembered being propped up against one of the walls. He swung horizontal with all the force he could muster, only to look in horror as half the length vanished into ash upon making contact with her aura. In the resulting flash of motion Vert was sent flying across the room and buried halfway into the furthest wall in something visually similar to a hunting trophy.

Rouge was next, hurling a chair in Yang's direction with all his might. Practically bored with this confrontation at that point, the huntress chose to loose a burst of flame from her left hand to incinerate the object before it could even get close to her. What she hadn't been expected was for Rouge to come leaping out of that inferno with a haymaker she caught entirely on reflex. All right, looks like these boys were at least half clever.

Before Yang could deliver a crushing counter attack to the redhead in front of her, Noir had closed the distance to make a stab with his folding knife. Using her free right hand, the blonde caught the blade between two of her fingers and halted its motion entirely. Again, she readied herself to perform a counter attack before a flare in her aura alerted her to another problem.

Argente readied the old hunting rifle with shaking hands and took aim through the scope. Exhaling with a shiver, his finger squeezed the trigger. The shot never came close to hitting, though, as the moment he fired an undertow tore its way through the wall on his right. The undertow was visually reminiscent of an alligator, only scaled up to four times Yang's size and with a leathery hide that was black as pitch. The bald man screeched in terror as he stumbled backwards in a desperate attempt to get some distance between himself and the monster, only to find his back against the wall after a few steps.

Yang took this distraction as an opportunity to deal with her current assailants. In her left hand she channeled her massive strength until her grip was so tight it began crushing Rouge's fist with a sickening crunch. In her right hand she channeled her intense aura until the handle of Noir's knife was hot enough to sear his palm. Both men howled in pain and tried to pull away. Noir was silenced with a quick knee to the gut while Rouge was lifted in an arc over Yang's head and returned to the earth via pile driver. One to go.

Argente was openly sobbing as Yang caught sight of him from across the burning house. Bullet after ineffectual bullet bounced off the thick skin of the Grimm in front of him until the rifle clicked empty. The undertow reared back to open its jaws, then snapped forward to claim its meal. Before it could, gilded arms took hold of its jaws and brought it to a sudden stop. The two beasts appeared to be in a stalemate before golden flames began spewing from the nozzles on Yang's elbows. The fire only added to the already present inferno of the house as it propelled the beast into the open air. Ready to end this, the blonde slammed her right foot onto the creature's bottom jaw and used her now free left hand to unload a stream of holy blaze directly into its throat. After six seconds of uncontrollable writhing, the monster's life finally gave out with a shudder and it evaporated into cinders.

Looking back at the still burning house, the bounty hunter gave a sigh of annoyance when she remembered her targets all needed to be brought back alive.

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"Was burning down the house really necessary?"

"I dunno Scar. Was hiring a bounty hunter to take down four rank amateurs really necessary?"

Scarlet David of Mistral's "Sanitation and Area Enrichment Force" did his damnedest to keep from face-palming in front of his own cleanup crew, who were all hard at work assessing any evidence to be disposed of. The official story would be how the entire event was merely an accidental fire that left the family scattered enough to be picked up by regular law enforcement. The public would have a serious issue with Mistral's government being responsible for what looked like a home invasion. "The local police clearly thought so. Maybe they didn't realize they'd be hiring a bloody walking disaster area."

"Aw, come on. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad? You knocked down a house with a Grimm!"

"Hey, that Grimm knocked down the house on his own. Devil's in the details, Davy boy."

"And do those details make it so someone besides me has to clean this up? No? Didn't think so."

Yang made an exaggerated gasp in response, "Oh my, Scarlet. Are YOU trying to play the victim after I was drugged and almost cut up? I mean, that experience was almost emotionally… Scar-ing."

"Wha-" the redhead tensed at his friend's brand of terrible humor before sighing, "Look, just try to be more careful, next time," his hand went up to the patch covering what was left of his eye. Soon after, he noticed the dark bags forming under Yang's. Looked like she had been up a few days for this case. "You should really go get some R&R, love. Maybe take a trip up to Vale. I hear Blake's going to be there for business. You could catch up with her."

"I… I'll think about it," the blonde promised reluctantly, as though an actual vacation was some sort of punishment rather than an escape. "I gotta keep my bills paid, though. Can't afford to miss a job."

"Whatever you say. Just remember it's okay to slow down, a little. Go too fast and…"

"Yeah, I get it," Yang snapped back slightly. A second later, she went right back to carefree, stretching her arms out as she made to exit. "Anyways, I could really go for some breakfast, right now. Think I'll catch ya later. You can handle all of this, right?"

The bounty hunter started walking away before Scarlet even responded, "Yeah, that should be fi-WAIT!" he noticed she was sprinting away at this point, "You need to finish paperwork on this, Xiao Long! We need deniability!"

She either didn't hear him, or, more likely, she really didn't care. Yang Xiao Long was long gone.


	9. Where Are They Now? Part 2

Rise and face the sun. For years, now, that was the mantra Blake Belladonna repeated to herself as she prepared for another trial of cameras and questions. Today was no exception as she murmured into the rattling torrent of her hotel shower, doing her best to let the hot water sooth the tension in her muscles and calm her nerves. Even after so long, these events still found ways new and old to terrify her into wanting to run away. That wasn't her anymore, though. She had already done enough running for a lifetime.

Knowing she couldn't spend all day under a running faucet, Blake shut off the water and exited the stall with soft steps. Wiping away the fog from the bathroom mirror, she began her usual ritual. Drying her form. Drying her hair. Dressing in the formal black dress that felt so appropriate for mourning. Applying the proper makeup to ensure her appearance was acceptable to electric eyes. Fixing her hair into a partial bun to give herself the appearance of both a proper public figure as well as a being of passion strength, and free will. Choosing again to not hide her faunus ears under a bow, instead using the ribbon to affix a cracked mask to her right hip. After a small breakfast to keep from upsetting her stomach, she was ready for the big show.

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The crowd was like some great beast ready to be spurned into action at any moment. Really, that was what all crowds were. When enough people found themselves united under one cause, it wasn't the subtle intricacies of their own complex psyches that drove the group. It was the simplest and strongest of emotions that allowed them to work together towards a singular cause. With simplicity came power and with power came danger. Like any beast, it had to be handled properly or risk tragedy.

The beast was made up of all sorts of bodies. Thin to bulky, strong to frail. Some bodies had statures that towered above all the rest, while others were so small they had to be lifted up to get any sort of view. Some had tails, some had horns, and some had an extra pair of ears sprouting from their heads. There were a few who had no extra parts at all, but found themselves waiting with just as much anticipation as the others. The one thing all the bodies had in common was eyes. Eyes that all intently followed the one they had come to see. Blake closed her eyes and took a small, calming breath before looking upon the beast from behind her deep black podium. Emblazoned on the front was the head of a strong white wolf; solid, untattered, and pure.

The beast grew deathly silent and Blake began to speak.

"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang. I'm honored to join you today on this momentous occasion. As you all know, six years ago I defected from our cause in reaction to the ever growing violence that had taken hold. Because I fled from the problem instead of confronting it directly, there was nothing to stop the unfortunate events which transpired afterwards. We lost many loyal brothers and sisters in service to a woman who cared for nothing but her own selfish gain. Worse still, we lost our way. We began murdering humans and faunus in equal measure, attempting to overthrow the kingdoms rather than work with them to find the peace and dignity we so desired. Even my dear mentor Adam succumbed to violence, intent on spreading nothing but death and destruction until he was killed during the takeover of Amity Colosseum. Of all my regrets, that I could not bring him back to the light is among my deepest."

There were murmurs of solemn agreement echoing through the beast. In particular were those with masks hanging off their hips and shoulders much like her own.

"However, it was not just through my regret and shame that I came back to you all, but also my hope. I hoped that many of you, especially upon seeing the fruit of your dark labor, would realize that force is not the way to true equality. I hoped that our once glorious symbol of cooperation, marred by war for so long, could be restored to its former status. Most of all, I hoped there was still a chance for our kind to meet with the humans eye to eye and make a better world together."

This time the murmurs of agreement were more enthused and joyous. More than a few humble smiles made their way onto faces scattered in the crowd. Faces that would never again wear masks, never again hide their deeds from the world.

"Now, four years have passed since you all chose me to represent what you believe the White Fang stands for. We are still far from equal and many of us are just as far from atonement, but the strides we've made are not insignificant."

A small cheer escaped the beast before quieting down as soon as it started.

"As of now, the kingdoms have finally begun taking new steps towards equality for faunus kind. In particular, Vale, in spite of being one of our most pronounced victims of the past, has instated many laws and regulations aimed at ensuring faunus equal pay and tax benefits, as well as protection for the rights of human-faunus couples. While Atlas and Mistral may be proving slower to change, it has been through our peaceful methods and attempts at communication that allows us to keep the door open to them. Our brothers who have committed violent crimes in the name of civil rights have either chosen to serve as protectors of the people outside of the kingdoms' jurisdiction or willfully serve out a sentence in prison so they might spread the word of understanding among those who need it most.

"Please remember this. Every ally we find, every faunus we can protect, every mind and heart we win over through empathy and understanding, no matter how small or frail, is another step closer to a better world. I consider myself blessed to find the company of those with the kindness and determination to persevere through this struggle. I am wholly convinced that, so long as we walk the peaceful path, we will arrive at a better place for all peoples."

The beast sounded off in agreement, passionate and unrestrained as strong smiles peppered its surface. Blake couldn't stop herself from letting out a bit of a grin as well. All those years ago, she was so reluctant to take up the mantle Adam had been grooming her for the entire time. When she had enrolled in Beacon, she assumed her future would be beyond the walls of the kingdoms, slaying monsters with a shining blade. After Amity, though, it became clear to her that her words could be more powerful than her sword had ever been. Instead of killing monsters, she was taming the beast so it might find a way to live in harmony alongside all the other great beasts of Remnant. In spite of the stress that came with the job, she was truly happy to be doing it.

She stepped down from the podium for a time and others came and went in her wake. Some with grand speeches of the great things they could have in the years to come, others with tragic stories of humiliation or loss in the face of discrimination. Word by word the beast grew stronger, more stable. The combination of experiences and perspectives wove each individual closer to one another. Eventually, the last speaker stepped down and it was time for Blake to return to the helm. It was time for questions from the press who had attended the rally. The questions were rather simple. Where did Blake intend to travel next? What was her opinion on this or that aspect of the issue? Everything was fairly cut and dry, until she got to a reporter with white tipped black hair to her shoulders and a pair of sharp rectangular glasses.

"Yes, you over there."

"Bette Doppler of Vale Herald. We've talked a lot about the future today, but I was hoping to learn about your past. It's true you were once a student of Beacon Academy?"

"Yes, I was."

"Is it also true you were assigned to the same team as Weiss Schnee, head of special operations for the Schnee Dust Corporation?"

Fantastic. She wanted to hit her from that angle. Like she was the first person to ever try and use that to get under Blake's skin. "Yes," she replied calmly. "Miss Schnee and myself were classmates and teammates up until the end of the last Vytal Festival."

There was only the slightest hint of a smirk on Miss Doppler's face. "Please tell me, how do your White Fang reformists feel about their leader having such close personal ties with the SDC; a company infamous for its policies involving faunas labor?"

While she kept her face set on the outside, Blake was sighing internally. There was always one person who wanted to upset the event. Sometimes it was a genuine desire to see Blake lose favor with her followers. Other times it was just in the hopes of having a juicier story to submit to their editor. Which one Miss Doppler was didn't matter. The same diplomatic response was required for either. "While I in no way condone the business practices of Miss Schnee's father, Weiss herself is the furthest from anti-faunus as you could be in the kingdom of Atlas. Her special operations department sets itself apart from the rest of the SDC with equal pay for human and faunus employees as well as equal opportunity for promotion within her ranks. All of which Weiss Schnee, whose family has been locked in brutal conflict with the White Fang for years and suffered greatly for it, fought tooth and nail to make happen. Rather than questioning whether our friendship invalidates my leadership of the reformists, I urge everyone here to look to Miss Schnee as an example of what can happen when humans and faunus are able to put aside their differences and reach a deeper understanding of one another."

There were more murmurs of approval from the beast. Blake couldn't keep herself from gently smiling at the sight of a blonde faunus and a black haired human in the crowd holding each other. Miss Doppler didn't seem to be all that bothered by her failure to get a rise, however. Light reflected off her glasses as she shifted slightly. "Thank you, Miss Belladonna. I do have just one more question involving another aspect of your time in Beacon."

A sarcastic cheer sounded off in Blake's head. What would she bring up, now? Her kleptomaniac ex-boyfriend with a prehensile tail? Her former partner's violent and self-destructive habits? Or maybe even-

"It's about Ruby Rose."

There it was. The heaviest albatross to settle around Blake's neck since Adam. Again she kept a straight face, though this time it was far more difficult to maintain. She could barely stop from cringing at the sound of her old leader's name even so many years later. Ruby had been a major part of the resurrection of Blake's optimism. She'd be lying if she said Ruby's act of treason hadn't hurt her. Still, she couldn't afford to show that sort of weakness here. She had a responsibility for morale. "Please continue," she replied neutrally.

"There's always been something that never made sense to me about accounts of the Vytal Festival's final evening. The White Fang launch an assault on Amity Colosseum, compromise the programming of Atlas' security drones, and very nearly manage to use the stadium as a weapon to destroy Vale's perimeter defenses and let in a swarm of Grimm. A terrifying plan, almost airtight. And yet it only took one fifteen year old girl to hijack this scheme and use it for her own means. That seems rather suspect to me."

"Ruby Rose was a prodigy in combat and strategy. You could ask anyone who spent time with her in Beacon," Blake's eyes narrowed slightly. This wasn't a conversation she enjoyed having, but it seemed like someone always had their own ideas about an event they hadn't been there for.

"So I've heard, but she wasn't the only member of Team RWBY to be exceptional. Very soon after Ruby Rose foiled the plot to destroy Beacon's walls, two of her teammates found themselves in positions of great influence among two factions that have been enemies for decades. I find the concept of three very close, very young girls garnering such power so soon after one of them betrays the world as a whole to be more than a little suspect. Wouldn't you agree? Especially when taking into account how Miss Rose chose to evacuate the terrorists as well as the civilians."

Oh joy, the classic conspiracy theories had emerged. The ones that claimed Ruby was some kind of megalomaniacal overlord looking to conquer the world. For all Blake knew nowadays, Ruby might be, but she still wasn't part of any such scheming. Maybe if Ozpin was still around, he could have explained why Team RWBY had become so influential even after disbanding. It seemed obvious to all Blake's former classmates that the team formations in the Emerald Forest were far from randomized. Of course, that was just one of the thousand questions everyone in Vale regretted not being able to ask the former headmaster. Miss Doppler's question hung in the air, regardless. She would have to answer.

"If there are any brothers or sisters who were present during the takeover of Amity Coliseum, would you please step forward," Blake requested kindly. In response, four figures emerged from the beast; each with a Grimm mask hanging somewhere on their person. A fifth figure stood up behind her, his scratched and charred boarbatusk mask sitting on his shoulder. In truth, there were probably a few more that had remained in the crowd. Even if they had returned to peaceful actions, there were many who were either too ashamed or too scared to admit taking part in what had almost been the darkest day in Vale's history. "Could one of you please express your opinion on Ruby Rose's actions on that day?"

One brother hesitated before speaking, "When the plan first failed and my brothers and I were being escorted onto the ships, I was furious. I couldn't believe we had been defeated on what was supposed to be the evening we took everything back from the humans. I was still overwrought with hatred at that point. Then, I saw the storm that emerged from the arena. I knew I would have stood there and died had the victor not evacuated her all of us, her very enemies. I saw the storm descend upon the horde of soulless monsters my brothers and I had lured to bring slaughter to the city. That moment was my moment of clarity. So many would have died that night if not for Ruby Rose. Worse still, I would have been one of the monsters responsible for it. Our defeat saved my soul from the deepest pit Hell had to offer. For that, she has my gratitude."

Blake nodded proudly to the man who spoke. "Do any of the rest of you have anything to add?"

Another was about to speak up when her ears picked up the telltale sound of a weapon being yanked from its holster. Buckshot riddled the podium and dissipated the shadow clone Blake had replaced herself with in an instant. Sitting with her back to the edge of the podium, she took note of the speakers who had been behind her. Most of them were unscathed and making their way to retreat, a few had minor flesh wounds from the scatter, and the one who had been standing was now bleeding profusely on the floor. She would have to draw the attacker's fire if he was to receive medical attention in time.

Shot after shot bashed against Blake's cover, sending woodchips into the air with each impact. Though she could not see it, the white wolf head that once stood untarnished was likely shredded beyond recognition. She was pinned down and she needed to do some to draw her attacker's fire. Squeezing the sheathed weapon at her side, she formulated her strategy quickly. Again, she reflexively called on the power tied directly to her soul. Two Blakes sprung from either side of the podium, sprinting low in the hopes of flanking the attacker. The shooter had a gun each waiting for them, though, and the identical pair of faunas both dissipated into wisps of shadow. However, the shooter could not return his sight to the podium in time as a third Blake vaulted forward, a purple bladed tanto in her right hand and her sheath morphed into a tonfa with a trigger at the base of the handle. While her blade was halted by one gun, her tonfa guarded her from another.

Their weapons locked together as they stood within inches of one another, Blake was finally able to get a good look at the man who was very interested in seeing her dead. That he had a standard Beowulf mask now set firmly on his face was the first thing she noticed. He was White Fang, but he definitely wasn't one of her White Fang. His weapons were short and unassuming. A pair of lever action shotguns adorned in olive and gunmetal, very militaristic in form. On the end of each barrel was the head of a tomahawk, the blade on the bottom while it looked as though the spike was part of the sights. Obviously, close range was his preferred method of combat. As far as physical appearance went, he was unremarkable. An average build, average height, even the pair of dog's ears blended in with the mess of dark brown hair they were nestled in. He didn't stand out in a crowd and that was probably the point of him being there.

"There's no more need for weak words, traitor," the shooter spat as he tried to knee Blake in the ribs, forcing her to dash backwards.

"Are you sure I'm the traitor, here?" Blake shot back with both words as well as bullets from her tonfa. "Of the two of us, I'm not the one who just put one of our brothers in critical condition."

"You've done far worse than that without even touching a weapon!" the shooter rebuked as his weapons whirled in front of him to intercept each round. The sound and feel as his blades collided with the bullets was odd, though. He had to keep alert. Deception was this witch's specialty after all. He sprung forward when the shooting stopped, aiming a vertical slice with his left gun while steadying his right for a point blank hip fire. His opponent was ready with a counter, catching the left with her blade, disrupting the right with a well-placed shot to its barrel, and following through with a savage left jab to his cheek. The shooter stood firm, spitting out the blood that had rushed into his mouth. "You dare emulate his weapon."

For the first time that whole exhausting day, Blake allowed herself to snarl in response. "And why shouldn't I?!" she demanded before forcing the shooter into a retreat with a swing from her tonfa. "You might stay loyal to his misguided ideals, but he was MY mentor. He taught me everything I knew about making a stand for our kind. He taught me how to defend myself. Then he fell to madness!"

The attacker smirked at his success in getting a rise out of the young woman he had been told was entirely unflappable. He leveled his firearms at Blake, confident she wouldn't be able to dodge the entire spread. "If you were a true student, you would have stayed at his side until the end!" he called out before opening fire. To his surprise, instead of attempting to flee with her semblance, she stood firm. The short blade spun so quickly it took on the appearance of a purple cyclone. The buckshot wasn't deflected by the blade, rather, it got it all up in a swirling vacuum. When the spinning stopped, the buckshot fell to the ground softly.

"A true student learns to think for themselves," Blake's golden eyes flashed as she levelled her gun at the shooter once more, though he showed no sign of fear. A volley of shots were aimed at his chest and, as expected, all were torn to pieces by his weapons. The last shot, however, was aimed at the ground. As Blake planned, the round ricocheted upwards and impacted harshly with his chin, sending him reeling backwards.

The shooter was surprised to be alive, as he expected his brains to have been splattered all over the room from that attack. The feel of what hit as well as the sound it made when it bounced to the floor told him why he had survived. Again, he spat out blood in disgust, "Rubber bullets. Is this the best defense you can give your people?!" he moved to raise his guns again, but suddenly they felt far heavier than they had any right to be. That was odd.

"Yes," Blake stated calmly. "This way, I can protect my people on both sides of the line." Sword returned to sheath, knowing there would be no further need for combat.

Furious at the disrespect he had just been shown, the shooter again tried to lift his weapons. Again he was unable to even budge. Glancing downward he understood why that was the case. There were what looking like black spider webs coating the blades of his guns and sticking to the floor. Then he noticed where in particular they stuck to the floor. Everywhere one of those shredded bullets lay, a thick strand had attached itself. Suddenly, the weight of his weapons was even greater than before. Before he could help it, both shotguns were wrenched from his grasp and embedded to the barrel in the floor.

"You're so used to the direct approach, you've forgotten there are other alternatives," Blake continued as she stepped forward. "Now it's time you stopped. You don't stand any chance in this state."

A growl more akin to a dog than a man erupted from the shooter's mouth. He was mere feet from his objective and she'd just let her guard down. There was no way he would just come quietly. He was a man of spirit, of belief. He took a knee, then sprung forward in a flash of movement.

Blake would have been more than prepared for this likely assault. She could have fired her sword out of her sheath and knocked him unconscious with the hilt. She could have activated the invisible strand the last rubber bullet had attached to his jaw and forced him face first to the ground. Hell, she probably could have sidestepped his blind charge and given him a chop to the back of the head. She wasn't able to employ any of these responses, however, because the instant the shooter kicked off he was engulfed in a golden inferno she knew all too well. When the blast subsided, her attacker was a burned and twitching wreck. At least he was still alive though. Turning her head, she saw exactly what she was expecting. A young woman with short blonde hair and a long brown coat with a dopey smile on her face like she hadn't just immolated another human being a few seconds ago.

"Heard you were having a big event!" she said joyously as she casually stretched out her arms. "Thought I'd drop in and see what it was all about."

The only response she got from her old friend was a death glare only those who were truly part cat could muster.

"…What?"


End file.
